Forgiveness The Story of Madeleine Cahill
by Lapulta J.R.R. Cahill
Summary: Madeleine is Madeleine. Cursed to be four different colors, yet unable to find her own. This is her story, and the story of the four different colors that made the fifth - the color of a true chameleon.
1. Prologue

**Okay. Seriously. You're probably ready to stick my head on a pole and march it around, and you haven't even read the first chapter. You're probably thinking- Why in the heck doesn't Lapulta stick to her little reviews that drive everyone nuts? I know. And I also know that I'm extremely stupid to be putting the 'first' chapter in when I'm writing the middle of the fanfic. Some great author I am right? Anyway, Read and Review. And get to the third chapter before you start slamming the hammer on my head. Please. Actually, the fifth chapter is where my writing starts taking an upward turn... Ahh well. If I signed on this site I guess I've got to pay the price.**

* * *

_I thought I should write this, even though Madeleine told me that I get to write part of the story later. Technically, you probably shouldn't even know I'm here. Maddie's probably going to scream at me and say that I'm 'spilling the beans' but I can't resist. She said that she couldn't possibly put her birth down in this story. And she's right. But she can, if someone else does it._

_In my opinion, this is probably the most important part of the story. If Madeleine wasn't born, there would be three options. One; There would be no more world left to live on. Two; There would be no people but Cahills living in the world. And Three; All of us would of died, nothing would of happened and all you girls would still be sitting in hoopskirts._

_Number one would probably be the most likely to happen if Maddie wasn't born, but she was. So maybe we shouldn't think about those things._

_Madeleine, can you leave? You're driving me crazy and making me jump every time you slam your fist on the computer keyboard. It's not your fault you can't type._

_I actually like to think of the hoopskirt thing as the funniest. But you probably know that already. Seriously. Can you picture that? No computers, no modern houses, no screws, no bolts, no what-ever-climbing-thingies-Tom-uses-but-I-can't-remember-the-name-for-the-life-of-me, no microwaves. Ouch. I just thought of that. No more TV dinners. Esh._

_So basically, right now, I'm avoiding Madeleine, and putting this on the computer before she can read it and kill me. She's definitely going to kill me for doing this. Anyway, let's begin._

_-LC (and MC & EC technically, but I'm writing this. Not them. I think I deserve to put my name in here anyway. And besides, Maddie said that she'd promote me to 'Co-author'. Then I can drive Edward crazy. I deserve to put my name on here. Don't you think? Maybe not...)_

**

* * *

****Prologue**

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Gideon Cahill anxiously poked his head into the room where his wife, Olivia was lying on the bed. She was holding a tiny bundle wrapped in blankets. It contained their child. Their fifth, and last. 'The _last._' The midwife had told Gideon fiercely before she'd left. _The last._ Gideon thought resentfully. "Well?" He hoped it was a boy.

"Come and see."

Olivia pushed herself up a little, a pillow under her. She clutched the little bundle tightly to her chest, hugging it as if her life depended on it. Gideon stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Olivia pulled back a little of the blanket so he could see. _A girl._ His heart sank. He had so wanted a boy. "You said it was going to be a boy!"

The woman smiled a little, not at her husband, but down at the baby. "I didn't know, I thought. Besides, she kicks hard for being a tiny one." Gideon realized that his daughter was barely a foot and a half long and only three quarters of that wide. She _was _a tiny thing. _Won't last a second in the world._ He thought, quite sadly. "You hold her." And then his daughter was placed gently in his arms. The child didn't weigh much. _Not half of what Tom weighted. _Gideon thought of how he'd had to keep shifting the hefty baby from one arm to the other. _Not with her. I could hold her all day._

He yawned, and reminded himself that it was late. Far past the children's betimes, at least. He waited for Olivia a bit, but then found she was waiting for him. Did it really matter what his daughter looked like? She was just another girl. She probably look like Jane, or Katherine. But he did.

Gideon Cahill found a pair of liquid green eyes staring straight back at him.

He stared. The baby stared. Then he blinked. The baby blinked. Gideon raised an eyebrow in confusion and the baby tried to copy him again, frowning and trying her best to lift her eyebrows. Her Father had to laugh. He gently handed the baby back to Olivia.

"She's an odd one," Olivia laughed a little with him. "She wants everything, but she knows she can't have it. And she's only a few minutes old. Look." Carefully, Olivia unwrapped the baby and set her down on the bed. She lay on her back for a moment, staring at the ceiling, and then she rolled over. Gideon raised his eyebrows again in surprise. The baby struggled onto her hands and knees the best she could, and then proceeded to examine the quilt. She seemed fascinated with the way the triangles and squares were sewn together. Not even the bad taste of the cloth in her mouth dispersed her examining nature.

Gideon scooped her up and nestled her in the blankets again. Then something hit him. Something big. "She looks like Lucas. With the green eyes and black hair."

Olivia caught his brain wave. "Gideon no!" The small pen knife hovered in mid-air. "Gideon, she's only a child."

"My sister's watching us." Gideon shot back. "You know it, and I know it. I thought about doing it just before Lucas-" He cut out the word he was going to say. It was too painful. "The others, they have their talents, they're just one part. But if she has all of them, like Lucas did, and she keeps the other together. That's what we're aiming for. Isn't it? Besides, we've seen the others, they can't work together. Not with their talents. They have to know that losing isn't the end of the world. Lucas would of taught them that, but..."

Olivia held her breath, afraid of what her husband was going to say next. She had pulled herself to an upright position with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

"-But he can't. If they can all work together, then it's for the good of the world."

"She is your _daughter_ Gideon."

"If I had, what she might have, I would of already done it. The world is at _stake_."

"She's only a few minutes old. Give her_ time_."

"The younger she is, the better. You know what we have to do. All of them _must_ work together, or all of our work will be wasted. All our _lives_. Everything collapses. Our work, our family, the world, all of it."

Olivia looked at the child wrapped in the blanket, green eyes staring innocently back at her Mother. It broke Olivia's heart to see them. "Alright. Because it's necessary. And because it can't be done any other way." Gideon nodded wordlessly adding his agreement to the words she said. But Olivia turned away so she wouldn't have to see the knife flash down. Or the trickle of blood that slowly leaked out over the tiny arm.

* * *

There was no evidence of what had happened, five minutes later. Both Gideon and Olivia were surprised that the child hadn't cried, but nothing could be taken for granted. Olivia carefully patched up the baby's arm and sat on the edge of the bed, holding her close.

"Should I go get Luke?" Gideon asked after finishing with the vital. "He wanted to see the baby."

"You didn't put the children to bed?" He caught a note of anger in his wife's voice. Unusual. Usually she was the calm one and his temper was always flaring.

"All of them but Luke. You know how much he was hoping for another brother."

Gideon saw the anger fade away and there was a small smile. "He can see, but it's late. Not for too long."

* * *

Gideon found his oldest son -four years old- sitting on the edge of his bed, down the hall. _He's so much like Olivia._ Gideon always thought when he saw him. But that night, he could see himself mirrored there quite plainly. The boy looked up at him as soon as he entered the room, an eager expression written on his face. "Is he here?"

Gideon just nodded and held the door open for him. He didn't have the heart to tell the boy that it was a she, not a he. "Now you have to be quiet," He whispered before he opened the door to his and Olivia's room. "Your Mother's tired."

Luke just nodded, his enthusiasm not waned. Then he pushed open the door himself, too impatient to wait another second. Gideon watched as the little boy raced into the room and peered into his Mother's arms. He almost wondered why he felt a stab of pain when the boy's face immediately fell. The baby was just another girl. "I thought it was going to be a _boy_."

Gideon didn't try to butt in. He wasn't good at comforting. That was Olivia's job. "Sometimes..." His wife whispered, hugging the bundle tighter than ever. "Little things come in small packages. We just have to find them, and open them."

There was no reply.

"Lucas looked just like her."

"I don't get it." Luke suddenly scowled at the baby. "I wanted a boy!"

"You can't always have the things you want." Olivia shot back. "And you never know. Perhaps she'll be all Lucas was."

"Never!" The little boy jumped off the bed, fist clenched tight in anger. His face was screwed up and Gideon could see he was holding back tears. "I won't be friends with her! I won't!"

"Why not?"

"I wanted a boy!" Luke glared as hard as he could at the baby, like if doing it hard enough would make her disappear. "She's going to be just like Jane and Katherine! And she's going to scream and cry all day and feel sorry for herself! She's never going to be like Lucas!" There was a childish stamp of Luke's foot.

"How do you know?" Olivia asked softly.

"She's a girl." Luke spat. "And girls can't do anything."

"That's not true."

"Besides cry and whine and smell."

Olivia almost smiled. "That's not true either. You ought to try being her friend before you say that she isn't yours."

Luke looked hard at the bundle of blankets. His eyes were blinking fast, trying to keep away the tears. "Fine. But she's not going to be my friend. That's Lucas' job."

"It certainly is a job, isn't it?" Olivia meant it as a joke, but her son glared at her. "Perhaps though, she doesn't have to be your friend, but you can be her's. Besides, how can you say that to a person you've never looked at?" She turned down the blankets so the baby's whole head was showing. Luke couldn't resist and snuck a peek.

And he stared. The baby stared. He blinked fast to make sure a few tears didn't slide down his cheeks. The baby blinked, quite laughingly because she copied Luke's emotion exactly and she didn't have any tears that needed holding back. Luke watched her for a moment, then pulled up his hand and stuck his finger in his nose. Purposely. The baby attempted to do the same thing, which sent all three of them into gales of laughter.

"Changed your mind?"

Olivia waited for her son's reply. He didn't give one, he just watched the baby. And then slowly, almost imperceptively, a small smile slid over his face. "Can I hold her?"

His Mother nodded and passed him the bundle. Luke sat down on the edge of the bed, clutching the blankets tighter than Olivia had done. He couldn't help feeling a sense of responsibility. Not exactly responsibility, but a yoke he'd harnessed himself into, just as purposely as the baby had tried to stick her finger in her nose. _She's going to learn everything._ The boy swallowed hard and bent over the baby so no one could see the tear trickling down the base of his nose. _And I'm going to teach her. Walking, writing, speaking. And she's going to do it better than Katie and Jane! If I'm going to have to pull her hair!_

The baby's eyes looked up into his, and they met. A small smile was mirrored on their faces, almost a pact. _But you've got to be my friend in return._ Luke thought. _My best friend. Better than Lucas. No,_ He corrected himself. _No one will be better than Lucas._ But the thought wasn't a rebellious thought, it was the truth. And it left room for exceptions.

Luke gently passed his sister back to Olivia. "Your Father and I still have to think of a name."

Luke's eyes widened, "Really? You mean-"

"What were you thinking of?"

The little boy thought for a moment. "It's night. Why not call her 'Starry'?"

Gideon laughed, but Olivia just shook her head and smiled. "Not 'Starry', but I like the 'night' idea." Getting up, she took Luke's hand in her own and carried the baby to the windowsill. The stars were shining brightly, and Olivia couldn't help but think of the constellations. "What constellations do you know?" She whispered to the boy beside her.

"There's the Big Dipper. And... the Little Dipper? Is there a bear too?"

Olivia nodded as Gideon walked up next to them. "There's the Orion, and Scorpion, and Leo the Lion. Should we call her Linnette?"

"No," It was Gideon who spoke. "She's different. I believe she deserves a name that's different too."

"I haven't heard of someone called Linnette." Luke spoke up.

"You, my boy," Gideon tousled Luke's curls. "Have not seen the world like I have."

"Well why not call her 'Barry' for the Bears?"

Olivia thought for a moment, then her eyes widened and she looked down at the baby in her arms. The baby was lying quite still, looking at the stars. Her head turned somewhat as her eyes flickered around, but otherwise, she was motionless. Olivia held her tighter. Gideon was right. She deserved a name that was unique. Just like herself. "Ursa Minor," She finally whispered. "The Little Bear. That's it."

Both boys looked at her, waiting for her explanation. "She's a little bear." Olivia whispered. "Look at her. Tiny, but with power."

"Medina." Luke tried to come up with something that sounded vaguely like Minor.

"Minora." Gideon threw out a suggestion too.

Olivia just shook her head. Names flying through her head as she tried to pick one. "Madeleine." She finally whispered. "How about that? Madeleine."

Gideon nodded. He didn't have a personal preference one way, or the other. He always called his children with their _names_, but he always thought of them with their different unique personalities. So Olivia had always named them. She was good at that sort of thing.

Luke nodded too. He had always thought of names if they _sounded _right. Madeleine just _sounded_ like the little baby acted. Just like Thomas sounded like a large muscular person, and Katherine sounded sweet, but slightly bookish. Madeleine sounded right.

"Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill." Olivia whispered, smiling. Then she looked back up at Luke. "Alright, off to bed now."

"But-"

"No buts." Olivia leaned down and squeezed his shoulder. "It's past your bedtime young man."

"I don't want to go to bed!" It was the same plea, every night, for as long as Luke had been able to talk in full sentences.

"Your Father and I are going to bed too." And it was the same reply. Spoken back to him, every night for as long as Luke had, had the question to ask.

Luke made a face. "Goodnight Mother, goodnight Father." He turned around and started out of the room, but before he left, he turned around once more. Both Gideon and Olivia saw his mouth move slightly, but they didn't hear the words he spoke. "Goodnight Maddie." And then the little boy left.

_

* * *

__A Year and a Half Later;_

"... And D is shaped like a closed horseshoe. You got that?"

Olivia watched from the doorway as her two children lay on their stomachs together, bent over a piece of paper. There was an inkwell in front of them, and Luke was holding a quill pen. The little girl next to him nodded. "I see."

"Madeleine," Olivia gently knocked on the wood. "It's time for your nap."

"Just five more minutes? _Please_?" The little face looked up to her Mother pleadingly, but Olivia shook her head and scooped her daughter up into her arms.

"No. If I remember correctly, you said that to me yesterday." Luke and Madeleine flushed red, embarrassed.

"But I'm having fun!" Madeleine protested.

"Just think, if you take your nap now, you'll have time to have to have fun tonight before supper."

"But if I don't have to take my nap," Madeleine pointed out, not even knowing that her big green eyes were being used full to her advantage. "I'll have more time to have fun."

"You'll be cranky." Olivia argued, carrying her out of the room.

"Father and You don't take naps, and you're not cranky."

Olivia blinked. Was this a one year old arguing with her? "But your Father and I are grownups. We don't have to take naps."

"Then I'm a grown up." Madeleine smiled at her Mother.

"You're a child still." Olivia reminded her.

"Luke and Kat-wine don't take naps. They're only four years older than me!" Although Madeleine could speak in clearer sentences than Jane and Thomas, she still couldn't pronounce Katherine's name correctly.

"Luke and Katherine are older. They're six and five years old."

"Well I've lived long enough!" Madeleine was set down on her bed in her room, and she instantly popped up and began bouncing on it. "I've lived five minutes, and five hours, and five days, and five weeks, and five months. If you times those, you get... Twenty five! Do I still have to take my nap?"

Olivia lifted her daughter up and tucked her under the quilt. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Alright," Olivia was mildly tired of arguing. She could hear Jane starting up a wail down the hall and she needed to go tend to her. "There are approximately thirty days in a month, and three hundred and sixty five days in a year, how many days have you been alive?"

"If I answer that, do I have to take my nap?"

"No, you don't have to." Olivia watched as the girl curled up into her quilt and stared hard at the floor. "But you can't have Luke or Katherine figure it out for you."

There was no reply.

Olivia started for the door, sighing in relief. That was done. Now, if she could only- "Five hundred and forty five."

Olivia stopped dead. "What?"

"Five hundred and forty five. I've been alive five hundred and forty five days. Do I have to take my nap?"

Olivia whirled around and knelt by her daughter's bed. "How did you do that?"

A bit of red colored Madeleine's cheeks. "I don't know. I just... knew. Do I still have to take my nap?"

The little girl pleaded with her big eyes. They were more useful than words. "No. No- That was our deal, wasn't it?" Olivia gently gathered up the little girl in her arms again. "But if you're cranky, you have to go straight to bed. Got that?"

Madeleine nodded and wrapped her rather chubby arms around her Mother's neck. Olivia set her down in front of Luke's room, still almost reeling in shock. Madeleine pushed open the door, took a few steps inside the room, and plopped down by her brother again. A small murmur of conversation started up again. Olivia glanced at the paper in front of them. It was covered in neat, evenly spaced letters. As she looked closer, the ABCs began to form words, and then phrases, and then sentences. Then Madeleine took the pen from Luke in her chubby hand, set it down on the paper, and began to write.

Olivia got down on her hands and knees, and took the paper away from her daughter. The writing was clean, and impossibly intricate. "Luke taught me how to write!" Madeleine blurted out, eyes sparking with the youthful joy of learning something new. Olivia vaguely wondered why she hadn't fainted. Katherine herself was still learning the alphabet and here was her sister, barely a year and half old, and she was writing full paragraphs in perfect penmanship!

"It's alright." Olivia gave her daughter back the sheet of paper. "Keep writing." But as she left the room, she had to steady herself against the wall. Madeleine _couldn't_ be just an ordinary child. Everything pointed the opposite way. "She'll need it." Olivia murmured, as down the hall, Jane's rambunctious, two-year-old cries grew louder.

* * *

_So there it is. You better be pretty grateful. Madeleine's going to be so mad at me... I'll bet I won't live to see the light of another day..._

_-LC (and MC & EC respectively, counting that this is Madeleine's story I'm putting this on, and Edward's account. But they're not here. So I think I deserve to put my name down. Don't you?)_

**

* * *

****In your opinion, I am probably the lamest author, and the craziest person to actually put the **_**prolog**_ **in the beginning, while I'm writing the middle of the story. But heck, I couldn't resist. Besides, I came up with the idea and I had to write it down. Then I thought 'This would make a perfect intro'. And poof. Here we are, you reading my crummy story, and me, writing my crummy story for you to read. Did I just repeat myself? Anyway, before I go more insane than I already am; Thank you for reading this. I just put the ninth chapter up too. And that's the turning point of this book. But don't read it unless you've read the chapters before it. Because if you don't, it'll never make sense. And too, don't read this story unless you actually understand who Madeleine is. Because if you don't- well, I'm repeating myself. You wouldn't understand it. But if you still want to read it, that's fine by me...**

**"Writers are people who look beyond the stars -and can see the universe."**

**-Lapulta**


	2. Changing Hands

**Forgiveness; The Story of Madeleine Cahill**

**Since you clicked on that blue button on /39 Clues archive, I'll bet you want to hear a story. Well, have I got a story for you.**

**When you think of the 39 Clues, the first thing you think about, is, well... What? Dan and Amy. Amy and Dan. DAN AND AMY! What ever happened to the original Cahills? The ones that started the entire clue hunt. They are the beginning! The bottom, the base, the platform. Dan and Amy wouldn't even exist without the original Cahills. So, let me ask you another question; Why are people forgetting about Luke, Katharine, Thomas, Jane, and Madeleine? What is so hard about knowing their story? (Other than Scholastic hasn't barfed it up yet,) Since if you know their story, you can tell Amy and Dan's.**

**This is the story of Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill. It is a sad tale, full of friendships and broken promises. Of loves, hopes, wishes and dreams. It is a story of betrayal and hurt. Of peace and forgiveness. This is also a tale of courage and wits with daring plots and wild action. Only the brave hearted will be able to stand it to the end. Will you be amongst them?**

**~Lapulta~**

**Hehe, I wrote this summary a while back. I know it's cheesy. Bear with me.**

***inserted at a later date* - I aplogize for this summary being so cheesy. But to be truthful, it is true. People write about Dan and Amy, and mostly Ian and Amy, but they happen to forget the founders. I have only seen... *counts* Anyway, I could count on two hands the number of founder fics that are on this archive right now. Seriously. And of those, Forgiveness is the longest, and (I'm puffing myself up right now... not good...) I'll admit, the most theme developed.**

**Paint the Sky was made (I would say stolen, but that's my thinking, and I'm discrediting Iris right now, because she has dedicated all of her stuff to me, even though I don't deserve it. THANKS IRIS!) a while back, and I think it would be a good story to read. Iris is a great and very promising writer. (Already better than me. I can't ignore that fact either...)**

**I will let you read now.**

* * *

M: _First things first, right? Well, first off, I may be part Janus, but I can not write. I can spell, which Jane can't do, but I can't write. The next thing, is that everybody is getting this story wrong. I mean, I can't believe it! Quadruplets? And then I'm added in later? Jeeze! That would of been so messy... I won't even think about it. So I came up with the idea that I'd write the whole thing down. Just the way it happened. I was well on my way to that when Luke-the-amazing-and-completely-almighty decided to step in and input his relatively horrible writing skills in the story._

_Oh, hey, Luke._

L: _I'm here... Why'd you start without me, anyway?_

M: _I wanted to. Go jump off a cliff if you don't like it._

L: _Good luck. You're not getting rid of me that easy. So, what are we doing?_

M: _Where we finished making the vial. I've figured everything out in the story and that seems the best place to start._

L: _Okay. Fine by me. I'll go first-_

M: _WAIT! NO YOU DON'T! That is MY pen! Give it!_

L: _Oh, for crying out- Madeleine, go find your own pen! Use Edward's quill or something!_

M: _That is MY pen! Why do you keep using mine? Go buy one like it or something!_

L: '_Or something'... A common phrase often used by Cahills who have migrated to the twenty-first century._

M: _You are _SO _dead after this chapter. Fine, Lu. Write._

* * *

**Chapter One;**

**Changing Hands**

Luke held the test tube up to the light, examining it. He wasn't quite sure if the liquid inside was suppose to be blue or purple, but it looked decent to him, as long as it did what it was suppose to do. "Hey, Mads," The boy frowned, turning around to look for his sister who had_ just_ been beside him. Madeleine would be the one to run off and leave him with this unpredictable object. "Take a look at this."

"Let me see it," His sister wiped her sweaty forehead with one arm, tired of standing over an open fire for three hours. "And then I'm finished with this forever. Hopefully..." She gave an accidental snort, while she laughed into her hand. Her green eyes twinkled; not upset at anybody, just laughing at herself.

Luke rolled his eyes. He knew the antics of his younger sister. She was something that could come up with insults better faster than she would get mad. It was a good thing and a bad thing having a sister that could, and would do, both. "Honestly speaking, I don't know who's ruder. Tom, or you. Both of you run around outside, and have _extremely_ questionable manners. I think the comparison would be to a pig, but a goat is a pretty good option too. What do you think?"

"And honestly speaking," Luke watched as Madeleine took the test tube and held it up to her eye. She was going to turn his words back on him. He could feel it. "It's rude to ask. So coincidentally, you should of said, 'You or I'. Then to answer your rude question, I'll say, 'You' are the rude one."

Both siblings glanced at each other and then collapsed into muffled guffaws and snorts when their eyes met. Madeleine almost dropped the test tube which made them start giggling all over again. "Hey, Luke!" There was a sharp rap on the door. It's owner obviously had absolutely no consideration for her brother, or any other person that might be in the room. "Are you in there? Have you seen Maddie around? She was suppose to help me bridge my new song this afternoon and I can't find her anywhere!"

Madeleine watched as a distasteful scowl instantly passed over Luke's face. The giggling stopped dead, cut off in mid-giggle. The girl made a mental note to herself to try and make him loose his customary smirk sometime. Luke was often just _too _serious. "Coming!" She called back so her sister could hear her. Untying her covering-the-front apron she revealed an ankle long dress. It was plain and blue, but with an invented - Madeleine's idea, Katherine and her sister had worked together on it - cloth on the arms and shoulders that allowed much better freedom of movement than just regular cotton cloth.

Madeleine watched as Luke shook his head, confused, and rapping visitor forgotten. He was obviously wondering when she had gotten this dress. The girl had so many used dresses - passed down from Katherine, Jane and sometimes Olivia, she rarely managed to wear the same one in a week. Luke just sighed, giving up. "Who's that one from?"

"Katie," Madeleine smiled, grabbing a list off the hard, four-legged stool Luke had invented for himself to sit on. "We made it together, at least; so she ought to get part of the credit. But you should see what I've got sitting in the copper washbin outside. I'm hoping to make it all myself. I don't even have one that I've done that with, you know?" Madeleine's eyes faded off at her last sentence, musing over that fact.

"Oh, great!" Luke groaned, taking the test tube and placing it on a long slim table that was in the corner of his room, supported by one leg and two walls. "Not again! Don't you remember what happened when you dyed Father's good stockings? You thought it was a decent idea because if you cut off the ends, you could stick them over that kitchen ladle's handle so Jane wouldn't burn her hand like she did that last time the stew was hot! Madeleine Cahill, Jane burned her hand because she used absolutely _no common sense_," Madeleine glared at her brother and swatted him gently on the arm for his down-putting comment. He didn't stop. "If the soup is hot, the ladle inside the stew-pot is _obviously_ going to be hot. Now what's going to be your excuse when Mother can't do the cleaning tonight and she finds out?"

Madeleine frowned slightly, uncomfortable with his many logical - and true - statements. "I would explain myself to her. I guess," She tried to change the subject. "Anyway, I think we have everything. The serum-" There was a gesture at the vial. "Ought to have everything. I mean, there's five drops your blood, five drops mine; five drops of Katie's, Jane's and Tom's. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Madeleine held up the list she still happened to be holding and glanced at it. "We've got everything. Definitely."

Luke just looked at the girl. He wasn't fooled.

"Fine!" Madeleine glared at her brother. "She'll probably take me out to the woodpile like she did last time! Not that big a deal!"

There was a slow nod with an eyebrow raised.

Madeleine let out her breath in a hiss. "Yes, I'm _positive_," There was an impish moment as Madeleine's mind whirled at high-speed. "Oh, all-powerful, mighty, big brother!"

Luke's eyes narrowed, "How many times have I told you not to call me 'big brother'? You know I hate it."

The imp grinned. "Apparently too many for your taste... big _bwo-_der!"

Luke's legs were longer, but Madeleine was shorter, and she was part Thomas on the side. She scooted out the door and it was slammed directly in Luke's face.

* * *

M: _Nyah, nyah..._

L: _I am stuck with you. Why IN ALL OF _MIDDLE-EARTH _am I stuck with YOU?_

M: _Because we're not on Middle-Earth, doofus. Heck, I wish we were, but we're not. We're sitting in my house, at my desk, with a pad of paper between us, and writing this story. Reality check, checked?_

L: _Perhaps I can imagine that you're Eowyen, and that Frodo is standing by you, and-_

M: _REALITY CHECK IS NOT WORKING! SNAP OUT OF IT!_

L: _I don't want to be in reality right now..._

M: _So you would rather be stuck in the Lord of the Ring movies?_

L: _Yup. Now you're Tolkien!_

M: _I have you as a brother... I don't know him people. Never heard, met, or seen him before in my life..._

L: _That was Jane's quote by the way, not mine. I probably ought to give her credit..._

M: _JUST WRITE, DUMMY!_

* * *

_Frying_. Frying. _Definitely_.

"MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL!"

Luke felt like he wanted to punch the door. In fact, punching the door actually felt like a pretty good thing to do at that moment. But doing that would undoubtably call attention to himself if the whole house hadn't heard him yelling. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and leaned against the door. Honestly, why _did_ he put up with her? She was annoying, and irritating, and mortifying, too, sometimes. But she was his only link now to Lucas, and damn all other things, that couldn't be torn.

"Hey, big _bwo-der_!"

_CLOSE THE WINDOW! _Of course, Luke didn't get there fast enough. He could see Madeleine shoving a stick in between the sill and the lower window. It wouldn't close.

"I was wondering if you wanted to keep the vial we made. You know, I'm _so_ assured that my awesome, _big bwo-der_ will be able to take care of it."

Luke yanked on the stick, pulled it inside his room, and slammed the window down before Madeleine could say another word. Sighing, he placed the stick on his desk, then turned to a few of the multiple books nearby.

"Oh, big brother."

_She's so, so dead!_ Luke plunged toward the window, and shut it so fast it nearly clamped down on Madeleine's nose. The girl jumped back in surprise. _Finally... _Luke breathed as he turned away.

There was the sound of the window opening.

Luke spun around on his heel and slammed it shut again, glaring at the imp that stood outside.

She pulled it open.

He pushed it closed.

She pulled it open again, and Luke decided to scream louder than anyone ever had, and break the world record for sound. "MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL!"

The girl outside his window jumped, then cocked her head, waiting.

After a moment, there were five different - yet speaking simultaneously - voices echoing Luke's. Luke could hear their Father's. It was almost a, 'I know you can do better, both of you', and he didn't join in with the rest of the family on the end of her name. Olivia's yell was almost a plead; Luke could see the slight wince on Madeleine's face as she heard it. Thomas' yell came from clear across the field through the woods, and although faint, the laughing tone was unmistakable. Katherine just screamed pointlessly at her younger sister for making everybody yell and disrupt her work. And Jane's yell still managed to be sweet and melodic while telling her younger sister to; "GET YOUR _BUTT_ OVER HERE!"

Luke struggled to hold in the laughter at the reprimand that was sure to come from Olivia later in the day. Poor Jane.

Madeleine glanced in a bewildered way at him, then her head turned towards the front of the house where Jane was sure to be wanting her. Luke sighed and shook his head. "Go on, Maddie," The girl glanced at him, still torn. "I'm pretty sure I'll still be here."

There was one more glance, and then the girl ran off in a flash of blue skirt and cracked, black leather boots that had belonged to Jane, and were a size large for the younger sister. Luke bit his lip before he shut the window and sat down at his desk. Madeleine was a replacement. A good replacement, truly; but she was a replacement, and she could be nothing more.

* * *

Madeleine couldn't believe she was walking back inside, when she'd finally managed to get outside for the first time in the day. Jane was probably going to get more upset than she already was, so it was most likely for the good of the family that they didn't have to scream her full name more than two times in one day. Olivia was right there though, by the washtub. Now how in the world was she going to get past her...

"Madeleine?" Oops, too late.

"Yes, Mother," Madeleine stepped forward. Being found out was unfortunate, but so long as it wasn't about that dress, then that was fine.

Olivia frowned slightly, then stopped washing the dishes and turned to her youngest daughter, while absentmindedly wiping her hands on her apron. "Katherine happened to mention that the washing basin outside was full of raspberries and cloth. She also mentioned that she saw you having something to do with it."

_Rat. _At that moment, Madeleine frantically wished that she could squash her older sister like one of those little gnats that were so annoying. "I did - _do_, have something to do with it," The girl corrected herself from the past tense word. "It's my dress."

Olivia leaned against the counter, sighing. Madeleine winced again. Her mother was probably exaggerating, but still. She always had so much on her shoulders. "Madeleine Elizabeth, you _have_ dresses. You have so many dresses you don't even know what to do with all of them."

Madeleine squirmed, hoping that Olivia wouldn't stick to her offensive attack. "But I don't have one of my own," The girl whispered. "People are always going; 'There goes Madeleine in one of Katherine's dresses'. Or maybe, 'There goes Madeleine in one of Jane's old dresses'. Nobody can ever go; 'There's Madeleine, wearing the dress that _she_ made _herself_'."

Olivia sighed again, meeting her daughter's eyes. "Alright," She nodded finally. "But it needs to be out tomorrow. For sure."

The girl rushed past the kitchen, then frantically skidded to a stop when she began to enter the hallway, and turned back. "Thank you, Mother, I-"

"MADELEINE ELIZABETH, DON'T PRETEND THAT YOU DON'T HEAR ME!"

Madeleine shot a grin at Olivia, and then was gone.

* * *

L: _You 'shot' a grin at her? I'm not Jane, but something doesn't seem right with that._

M: _It's called 'metaphorically speaking'. 'Shot' can also mean- 'beamed' except that 'beamed' would give the image that my teeth are somehow so white they reflect sunlight and 'beam' their reflective glow to-_

L: _You lost me when you got to the 'shot' part._

M: Sure_... Okay. It's fine the way it is. Keep writing._

* * *

"You said you'd be here after the noon meal."

Madeleine gently shut the room's door and slid into place by her older sister at her harpsichord. The best way to pacify Jane was just to go along with whatever she said. Getting a dead tarantula hung over you when you woke up in the morning was no way to wake up. Madeleine knew that from experience, as she knew all of her family's moods. _Yet they can't work together. _The girl frowned as her hands joined Jane's on the instrument to form a duet.

"You never told me what you were doing; what made you late?"

Madeleine paused for a half-second, throwing off the two players. Jane glared at her, and for a second, a flash of retaliation shot inside the girl. "I have my own life, you know," She snapped.

It was Jane's turn to throw off the players. The younger sister scrambled to pull them even again. "I never said that."

And Madeleine shrank inside. Guilt twisted her stomach, and the horrible feeling she hated, filled her to the utmost. A sob rose up, but she swallowed hard and forced it down, as well as making herself keep playing. "I'm sorry, I was just... with Luke. It took longer than I thought it would."

Jane nodded, accepting her explanation. "Are you helping Mother and I made supper tonight?"

Madeleine winced, hating saying no, but being unable to say yes. _They hate each other, _She thought, wincing again. _But they don't hate me. _"I have... have a... previous obligation. In the afternoon; before supper. You know..."

"Thomas again?" Jane snorted, losing her ladylike demeanor, but still managing to keep her hands playing the song, while her mind was off doing something completely different. "You'd think he was going to find gold in those mountains the way he climbs them."

Mouth twitching up, Madeleine tried to pull her thoughts back down to the harpsichord. "He has," She whispered.

There was a roll of the eyes from the older sister. "Pul-_ease_, Madeleine, tell the truth. He'd boast about it to all of us if he had."

"But he has," Madeleine shrugged. "He's told me about it."

Jane's eyes lit up and she stopped playing, leaving Madeleine suspended on a horrible-sounding A key. "_Really?_"

Madeleine blinked as Jane yanked her hand off the A key. "Wait, wait, wait, wait," The girl grabbed her sister's hand. "You don't understand. Tom's just- doing what he wants to do. That's his gold."

Jane paused mid-rush to the door, realizing that she was dragging her reluctant sister as a dead weight. "What?"

Madeleine carefully made sure that her sister was so vacant she didn't realize she was being tugged back to the harpsichord bench. "It's sort of like- well, Luke does what he wants to do. Katie works in her lab, and Tom goes hiking and exploring. That's their gold."

"You're talking to a B flat key," Jane began playing again. This time so soft you could barely hear the notes she played.

Madeleine joined in again, a bit louder, thinking. "So what do you do when you play? Well, that's probably not the right question. What do you _feel_ when you play?"

"Happy, I guess," Jane shrugged. "It sort of lets my mind do whatever it wants to, without thinking. I'm doing what I want to do, and what I love to do, and that's that."

"Do you see Luke might feel the same way about the things he does?" Madeleine bit her lip, glancing at her older sister to see how her words were being taken. "Or Tom? Or Katie? They find their gold in the things they love doing, just like you do."

Jane nodded, the light of understanding beginning to glint in her eyes. "I think I get it... now. But how do they even _enjoy_ doing all that worthless stuff? It's useless."

Madeleine scrambled frantically in the recesses of her mind, trying to think up a decent answer that wouldn't insult her other siblings, one of whom would doubtless be eavesdropping on the 'private' conversation. "Everyone enjoys doing different things even though you might not like doing them."

"Except you," Jane smirked wryly. She looked far older than her fourteen years. "The divvied up twelve year old who plays leap frog all the time."

Madeleine winced at that description. She said nothing, and continued playing, forming the part in her head when Jane left off from what she'd already wrote. It flowed effortlessly into the already-written ending of the song.

"Sweet," Jane breathed, then copied Madeleine as the younger sister played it again, so the notes would stick in Jane's head, and she'd be able to write them down. "Thanks."

"No problem," Madeleine quickly slipped off the bench and gave her already-immersed-in-music older sister a hug before she escaped the room.

Walking down the hall towards her own room, she caught a glimpse of an orange skirt turning into it's own door. _So Katie was listening... _She thought, and quickly undid the latch that kept her room secure from prying eyes.

The room was rather messy. Madeleine grimaced, locked the door behind her, and then proceeded to fly around the room, picking up objects that needed picking up and straightening. There was the un-made bed, abandoned to help Jane finish the short story that she'd spend a week on, and then couldn't fit the ending in. There was the desk under the slightly-open window that was scattered with half-done sketches of the kind of dress the dyed-red cloth would make. There were the three pairs of boots that had been just thrown into the corner because she'd been in a hurry after going hiking with Tom she hadn't had time to put them to rights before yesterday's dinner.

Madeleine paused, throat choking her while she was on her knees and picking up one of Jane's hand-me-down boots. _I can never do anything _myself_._ And perhaps, that was why this dress was so important. Perhaps... _Perhaps I'm not even _me_ at all._ Fear clutched at Madeleine's heart and the girl looked up at the partly-open window. There was a bird flying above the fields, so distant she could barely see it. The bird dipped down, caught a hot-air updraft, and became nearly invisible except for a black speck against blue.

"Don't leave," Madeleine softly whispered. And almost as if it'd heard her, the bird swooped down from it's updraft and flew closer to her window. Alighting gracefully on a nearby pine tree, the now-distinguishable hawk's eyes flickered around, trying to find prey. Madeleine stood up, suddenly realizing how absolutely _tiny_ she felt. The bird was so full of power. She could feel it from where she stood. The hawk relied on nobody for anything, and did everything for itself. Madeleine leaned her head against the wall, throat nearly pulled closed with sobs, and watched the hawk.

"I want that," She whispered to herself. The hawk heard, and its eyes zeroed in on her, analyzing her if she was a friend, or foe. "I want to be free, so I won't be obligated to do anything for anybody anymore. I want to be my _own person_."

There were a few more seconds while the hawk watched her, then it took off, wings beating the air with a fierceness that could be matched by few. Biting her lip, Madeleine watched it go. She shouldn't cry. She c_ouldn't_. But suddenly she was frightened. Spinning around on her heel, she looked at her room. Of course, all the others' rooms were immaculate - except Thomas', but hers was always a mess. She never had time to do _anything _by herself, and it crushed her.

She heard the faint whistles before she could burst into sobs. Working quickly, she whirled around, closed her window and pulled the curtains. There was a packet of boy's clothes... somewhere... Madeleine dived at the chest that was by her desk. She had tied them together... Right there, in the left hand corner... Madeleine pulled out a small bundle of clothes, then pulled the string that held the packet together, and changed into them.

They fit. Rather large, but then what _did_ she wear that wasn't slightly larger than it was suppose to be? The modifications worked; forcing Thomas' old tunic to not look like the gigantic worn-out thing it was. The whistles came closer, almost to her window. Madeleine scooped up the dress and the other objects she'd thrown out in her hurry, and put them neatly away. The curtains and window were pulled back and up as soon as the whistles stopped in front of her window.

"_Que_, Pardon me, Mademoiselle, I believe I have the wrong lady. I was assigned to assist my twelve year old sister for a casual stroll. It would aid her frail health, if you know what I mean." Madeleine had to grin at the gangly fifteen year old that was mock-bowing just outside her window.

"I believe you _are_ mistaken, _Monsieur_," With a quick leap, she moved from the top of her desk to drop outside the window at Thomas' feet. "I am your sister, who is _not_ fragile, and needs aught assistance on her stroll."

* * *

L: _HA! Now that was_ FUNNY_!_ _Did that actually happen?_

M: _Of course that 'actually happened'. Why would I be writing it if it didn't happen? The whole point of this is to BE _TRUTHFUL_. Now, if I didn't tell the story right, and I put parts in that didn't exist, then would that be truthful? Hm?_

L: _No..._

M: _Of course not. So- I am truthful. That happened. And yes, I agree that was pretty funny. Tom looked like a clown._

* * *

"Ha!" Thomas dropped all formality. "You always need assistance! Who saved you from falling off that cliff? Remember? Oh... right, I know! Me! And what about the time you would have drowned in the cow-pond? Who just 'happened' to save your life? Me! No assistance. Yeah, right. You'd die the first time you tried to climb Fat Man's Bluff."

Madeleine rolled her eyes and waited for him to realize what she was wearing.

It took a minute. Thomas frowned slightly, confused, and wondering why she wasn't trying to backlash him with a smart comment about his tree-climbing abilities. Madeleine watched as his eyes happened to glance down, and his face turned red, to magenta, to a purple-ish color that looked equivalent to him being choked. "You _stole_ my_ clothes_?" Thomas finally managed to gasp.

Madeleine gave him a 'do you honestly believe that' look. "I don't steal," The girl turned her back on her brother and acted like she was going to climb through her window. "And I don't associate with people who would stoop so low as to believe that fallacious fact. Besides, it's payback for ruining my dress on that cliff. I'm _positive_ that it wasn't _my _blunder when the rock I was standing on slid down that slope."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Back up, Madeleine, and chop the big words. You're with me now. You know, the person who enjoys talking in simple language."

Turning back around, Madeleine's eyes twinkled merrily. "I won't 'hang around' you if you actually think that I _stole_ your clothes. And even _if_ I stole your clothes, I had a _reason_."

Her brother crossed his arms with a nonchalantly raised eyebrow topping off the smirk on his face. "And so apparently, _stealing_ - or _deliberately taking_ something from someone - means absolutely nothing to you."

Madeleine looked hurt. "Of course it does!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Mads." Thomas sighed. "Mother's going to flip if she sees you in those things though. I'd be careful if I were you."

The laughing face turned into one of thoughtful amusement. "Maybe if I..." Madeleine twisted her face slightly, and cocked her head. Thomas just waited for the mischievous statement that he was sure was going to come. "Maybe if I dressed up, you know - like this, and then cut my hair - it's too long if I were going to try-"

"Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill," Thomas' eyes narrowed disgusted at his younger sister before she'd finished speaking. "What _is_ your problem with being a girl? Whatever ideas or inspirational thingys that Katherine gets, she's _never_ had_ any_ ideas like _those_. Girls get the easy job of staying home all day. Why don't you just, like- help Jane fix dinner or something like that. Maybe you'd like something _girlish_ if you just _tried_ it."

Madeleine snorted, making a disgusted face at her brother. "Easy? How do you think your food gets on the table every morning, noon and night? How do you think your breeches get mended when you rip your knee off? And who do you think works on the garden here by the house? Trust me, it's not easy. And girlish things?" Madeleine left the last sentence unsaid and completed it by glaring at her brother.

"Well I don't see why you think _my_ job would be any easier!" Thomas snorted and rolled his own eyes. "I'll be you couldn't even milk a cow. And pulling logs? Please, give me a break. You'd kick the horse in the side and be flying through the air before you could said 'go'. And the end results of a good buck are _not_ attractive, let me tell you."

Madeleine's mouth twitched at the relatively true accusation. "But I'm almost as strong as you," The twelve year old reminded him. "And I'm turning thirteen years soon. Besides, I can learn. I'll bet I'll be the fastest learning student ever. But that's not even it really," Madeleine paused, frowning. Her eyes strayed past her older brother to the branch where the hawk had sat only a few minutes before. "I want to- to... I don't know. Just- do something with my life. I don't want to be a lump on a log, cooking stews all day."

Thomas rolled his eyes once more. "Whatever you say, Mads. Anyway, I found this on my lunch break, and I kinda wanted to show you. I mean, I thought it'd be cool. You'd like it. Consider it your early birthday present from me."

Madeleine's eyes instantly lost all vacancy and lit up at the prospect of Thomas' offering.

"I'm with you."

* * *

L: _Oh, great. What was it that time? The lamb, the dove, or that stupid turkey? GOD, I HATE THAT TURKEY!  
_M: _I got rid of him within the month..._

L: _He crowed ALL NIGHT!_

M: _Turkeys do not 'crow'. They gobble._

L: _So what? He was THE MOST ANNOYING THING THAT HAS EVER WALKED THIS EARTH!_

M: _Probably the fact that he was in the house didn't help either..._

L: _And the dove? Don't even get me started on the dove..._

M: _I know you're going to ramble anyway..._

L: _He 'coo'-ed ALL NIGHT LONG!_

M: _As with the turkey?_

L: _And that stupid bird ate ALL MY PHOSPHORUS!_

M: _Why did you have phosphorus anyway? And you seem to like that word... 'all'._

L: _It was the same with that stupid lamb, too. He _WOULD NOT _STOP BLEATING! We told you to feed him. You fed him, he bleated. You fed him more, he bleated. He ate until he was too full to burp- he bleated. The only time he actually STOPPED was when he was _SLEEPING_!_

M: _I think you're in the land of Middle-Earth again. You're completely ignoring me._

L: _And EVERY STINKING ONE of those 'pets' FOLLOWED ME! It was CREEPY! The lamb- _always there_. The dove went and pooped on my desk. The turkey dug a hole in the woodwork and SLEPT at my DOOR! It was a _CURSE_!_

M: _You're thinking too hard._

L: _Why couldn't they just follow JANE? She WANTED those pesky things around!_

M: _Why would they want to follow somebody who didn't scream at them?_

L: _I was _STALKED_!_

M: _Okay... I'm going to take the pad of paper away from him because this has already reached, and passed the point of 'pointless'. Thank you for reading as far as you have. Bye._

L: _AND THE-_

M: CUT!

* * *

***inserted at a later date than the other 'later date'* - So, who liked the italics? If you've read this fic before, you'll notice the HUGE difference that's happened once I rewrote the chapter. It's SO MUCH BETTER, isn't it? PLEASE tell me it is. But even if you don't tell me, I know, because **_**I**_** am happy with it. Amazing, right?**

***- If you read my profile, you found out that I'm a piano player. Sorry if you don't know what 'the bridge' means. You can add it to your vocabulary list. The bridge of a song is where the 2****nd**** chorus fits in with the ending. It's a sort of 'off' part that doesn't sound like the rest of the song. That's why it's so difficult to compose. Not that I would know anything about that...**

**Question; Who actually wants this story to continue?**

**The stuff- **_**purple**_**, stuff that they created together is crucial in the story. Both mentally, and physically in the storyline. You MUST remember it, or else my entire story fails... *sniffles for story***

**Please review. Off-site people can comment too, since it annoys me when people say; PLEZE REVIEW! Then don't let off-site people review... This is my first fanfic by the way, so can you try to give me nice reviews with CC? Flames are alright also, just don't say that I'm a horrible writer, because I already know that, and I'll only start laughing at you.**

**I'll answer any questions you have! Have a nice day!**


	3. Why Me?

**I'm dreadfully sorry everyone. What happened, was when I went to repost this chapter after I'd edited it, it posted as the second chapter of Termination, which, no doubt threw dozens of people into spasms with the confusion. I'm so sorry again. If any of the future chapters might have such mishaps or look so awkward and out of wack (Edward hadn't even been **_**introduced**_**) please, tell me, and I'll attempt to fix it as soon as possible.**

**Thanks again- :)**

**-=-(*)-=-**

**Chapter Two; **

**Why Me?**

"You completely ruined your present!" Thomas groaned disgustedly. "Here I give you the 'coolest thing alive' - according to you - and you name him something totally _stupid_, like- What did you call him?"

"Dani." Madeleine softly held the tiny ball of fur to her chest and cuddled it. "I'll have to heat up some milk for him when we get home. Could you get a straw from the barn? And how often do I have to feed him anyway?"

Thomas groaned again, making a face and leaning away from Madeleine apathetically*. "Why did I give you a present that you have to feed? Last time it was that lamb - his mother wasn't even feeding him and she beat you to it."

Madeleine's mouth twitched. "All I asked you was, _when_. And besides, that lamb didn't _want_ to be fed. That makes a difference, you know."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Sure, Mads, of course. I would feed him every two hours. And keep him warm. Like boiling water, place it in a container and cover that with a cloth; then place him next to it. Or just keep him in your pocket until he gets too big. Don't squash him though."

"Do you honestly think I would squash him?" Madeleine shot a distasteful glance at Thomas. "I may be a girl, and I may not be as smart as Katherine, but trust me, I'm not _stupid_. Thanks, by the way." She tacked on as a absent-minded after-thought.

Her brother groaned. "You're welcome. But if that little wolf wakes me up _one night_ by howling; Poof. He's gone. Mine. Understand?"

Something happened. Madeleine could feel it in herself. Her arms curled tighter around the little bundle of fur, gently and lovingly, yet with a fierce possessiveness that rocked her inside. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Of course." Trying to think up a question, Madeleine stopped at the first field towards the house. There had been wheat growing there, but it had been cut long ago. Stubble was the only thing left of the remains. "Do you work all day tomorrow?" She turned back to Thomas.

He nodded calmly, unaware of that crazy, unexplained emotion that had gripped her.

"I'll bring you lunch then, you know, if I'm not busy."

Thomas laughed, big and boisterously; just like him. "Fair enough, Mads. I need to go now though. Keep-" Thomas' face was momentarily contorted in a grimace. "-keep, _Dani_ safe. And I'll see you at dinner."

The girl grinned back, then turned and began to run. She could feel her legs only opening to the specific amount always allowed by skirts. There was no skirt to stop them though, and little by little, her strides lengthened as she dashed through the forest underbrush. Dani was safely clutched tight to her chest, and she bent her knees while she ran, taking care not to jar the three-week-old wolf pup. When Madeleine got the the last field and close to home, she softly pulled a small rag out of Thomas' breeches pocket and gently wrapped Dani in it so he was warm and hidden, yet was still able to breathe. For some reason, it just didn't seem right to show him to the family. He was hers, and that was how Thomas had meant the gift. Not a family dog.

**-=-(*)-=-**

A barrage of smells hit her when she walked into the house. _Of course, _Madeleine corrected her instantaneous surprise. _You've been gone for hours. Jane would be cooking by now. _Of course Jane would be cooking. She was _Jane_ after sniffed the air and sorted through the smells, categorizing them in her mind. _Apple pie, custard for desert. Fried chicken - the main dish. Corn for the vegetable, and... and something..._ She couldn't tell what it was. _Just Jane, working on her recipes again._

Entering the hallway, she carefully stepped over a string with one end tied to a nail stuck between a crack in the woodwork, and the other end mysteriously disappearing behind Luke's door. She could hear Luke's soft laughter behind her as she continued down the hall. _He would do that._ And Madeleine winced slightly, thinking of the fight that was probably going to break out when Luke's victim was tripped.

Luke would have nothing to do with it of course. Madeleine knew the three techniques there was to the 'tripping string'. Luke could set up the string just outside the victim's door, go back into his own room, and feign innocence, although everybody knew it was him doing it. He could set up the string in the hallway, tied to two nails; always loosely tied, so the string would fall after the victim had been tripped, and it would be hard to find the evidence. Or - the rare version - he could do it himself. Madeleine vaguely wondered if she herself was suppose to be the victim, and that was why he'd laughed. Or, in a better theory, he had laughed because she had stepped over it, and there wasn't going to be a two-victim spree that night. There usually wasn't, but of course, two victims would be at great score.

With a quick twist, Madeleine unlocked her door and stepped inside her room. She locked it again, from the inside, and then pulled Dani, the little bundle of black and brown fur, out of her pocket and set him carefully on her bed - still wrapped in the cloth. That done, Madeleine laid out Thomas' clothes for the next day, and struggled into a green dress that had been Katherine's. Olivia had obligingly basted the bottom hem, so it wouldn't drag on the ground, but it was still too long, and Madeleine hated wearing it. It, unfortunately, was the only thing available at the moment.

Taking a large stride forward, the girl instantly tripped over the low and restraining hem. "Stupid things," She muttered, and tried to get herself to remember that she was in a dress again, needing to take smaller steps. Dani was slipped into her small dress pocket, and Madeleine hoped softly that no one would notice the tell-tale lump.

The girl took careful steps over to the stand opposite of her bed, trying as best she could not to bump her tiny pet in any way. There was a basin and pitcher sitting on the table, with a cream towel beside them. Madeleine tipped the pitcher over the basin and splashed water in it; not caring if it went through the spout or not. Of course, more water went over the edge than into the basin, but it was enough to get the towel wet. Madeleine dabbed her face, neck, and washed her hands, then turned her hand toward herself with fingers bent towards her palm, so she could check her fingernails. They were dirty. A little dirt had managed to get under her thumb when she had been out with Thomas, and it had refused to come loose with the hand-washing.

_I'll live._ Madeleine rolled her eyes, crossed her index and pointer fingers on both hands in front of the night-stand, and prayed silently that Olivia wouldn't notice her thumbs. Just as she finished with that, Madeleine heard the light, agile steps of Katherine's boots in the hallway. And the girl instantly regretted Luke's tripping line. _Why Katherine again?!_

Yup. And... there was the crash.

_Forget about it! _Madeleine wanted to scream at her older sister, who was four years older than she was. _Luke's just teasing! Play along! Relax!_

It sounded like Luke's door was kicked, and there was instantly a snap from the 'disturbed' boy inside the room. Katherine snarled something back, which concluded a few more angry words. And then... yelling.

Madeleine walked to the door and gently pressed her ear against it. A bitter taste rose into her mouth, and she swallowed the vile liquid against her stomach's will. _'You're a fool!'_ Katherine was yelling at Luke. Madeleine could easily imagine the flashing of her older sister's dark blue - almost green, eyes.

'_Well if I'm a fool, then you're a ludicrous cockamamie!' _Madeleine bit her lip. Of course Luke would come up with something completely unreal and make it sound like it was an insult. He was good at that. _And regretfully,_ Madeleine anxiously bit her lip at the thought. _I am too._

'_Me?!' _Katherine's always high voice was beginning to reach an unbearable pitch. Madeleine winced behind the door. _'Me, Luke Cahill?! I am _polite_! I mind my own_ business_! I don't go around tripping people ever night, and more than that, if I _did_ do it, I wouldn't _enjoy_ it!'_

Madeleine fidgeted, at those words, uneasy. Usually Luke was pretty good at holding his temper, but this night seemed worse than the others. If he blew... She left the thought unfinished. _'You mind your own business?'_ Luke's voice was leering and sarcastic. _'Of course my dear Katherine, the fact that you rarely associate with anyone other than Father and Madeleine is no bother. But let me politely, in your manner, ask you a question. Do you ever inconvenience yourself to stop your head from being in the clouds so much? Is that such a problem?'_

Katherine's hiss of anger was audible to Madeleine on the other side of her door. The girl swallowed hard, caught between what she knew was right, but what wouldn't put her in the tight spot. It was so difficult. It was almost the freedom that she had wanted. This was what tied her down, the arguments. The constant worry of what would happen if she just paid attention to herself. If she paid attention just to herself, there would _be_ nobody for her to love. Only herself, but that was self-centered and didn't count.

'_It's just you!'_ Katherine screeched. _'Just you and a twelve-year-old, Luke! Come to your senses, you ignorant oaf! At least_ I _associate with people that are older than me! But you? No wonder I'm the smarter one!'_

_NO!_ The internal beeper Madeleine had inside herself turned on like somebody had flicked a switch, and Madeleine's sub-conscious thoughts acted faster than the girl had even thought possible. The lock was flicked and the door flung open in half a second. At the end of the second, she was standing outside the door, lungs heaving in slight fear and terror.

Katherine was standing before Luke, nearly half a head shorter than him, although she was only a year his younger. It was clear the argument was over. Words were no longer needed. But Luke's eyes were alive - blazing like dark oak wood caught on fire. His hand was halfway to Katherine's face - raised in a slapping position, and stopped in mid-air like somebody had turned the atmosphere around the three siblings to glass.

There wasn't a sound.

It took three full seconds before Luke's hand lowered back to his side. With a final glower at Katherine, Luke turned away and to Madeleine. The younger girl was almost afraid at how much his features had changed. All friendliness was gone. There was only toleration, and anger. Madeleine could see it in his eyes. He was tolerating her; tolerating her because he loved her like he loved nobody else in the family. But Katherine was a different story, and Madeleine knew as soon as 'the twelve-year-old child' turned around, that hand was going to be slapped on Katherine's cheek so hard it would take an hour for the imprint to fade.

Madeleine's stomach churned as Luke's eyes zeroed in on her. She had seen him angry - when she'd annoyed him to the point of total exhaustion. But this- this was different. He was so, entirely... vacant, that there was almost a complete absence of the Luke she loved. "Madeleine," The words were cold and hard with an underlying tone that stated Luke expected to be obeyed; yet the words were still gentle - meant only for her. "Go into your room. Now, please."

The 'please' was so out-of-place. Luke said it only because he truly meant it. She was suppose to just go into her room and play around with dolls- like she had them- or something, while he demolished her sister? Madeleine drew herself up to a full four foot, eleven inches. Her mind raced for a decent excuse. "I can't."

Luke's eyes flashed, but there was a hint of laughter in his eyes as well. "Your door is open," He prompted. "Not even locked. Turn around, and go into your room."

"I can't," Madeleine repeated again. She felt vaguely like a parrot - repeating everything, but never explaining.

"_Madeleine,_" There were no other words. Luke's 'for the sake of the twelve-year-old' mood was gone. He expected to be obeyed. Now.

"There's- there's-" Madeleine fumbled for an excuse. "There's a mosquito in my room."

"It's September, Madeleine," Katherine butted in, looking reproachfully at her younger sister. Her voice was antithetically soft and gentle, yet with the same tone as Luke. They were trying to get rid of her. "There are no mosquitoes."

"But there _is_ one in my room," Madeleine scrambled frantically. "I saw it."

"Go into the kitchen then," Luke's voice was cold now, with no sympathy behind it. "Help Mother and Jane set the table or something. Go. _Now_."

"What if it flies out?" Madeleine rubbed her arm, hoping she looked like the mosquito had already bitten her, and might try to again.

"Then it'll most likely bite us, and not you." Katherine pointed out, voice still soft. But it was quickly losing it's placating tone. "If you go into the kitchen, that is."

"What if it likes the taste of just me?"

All traces of sympathy disappeared in Luke's eyes. "_Madeleine_," The words were so cold; so unforgiving it was almost physically painful to hear them. "I don't care about a mosquito. I don't care about it biting you. It's a _fib_, and we all, and we all know it. You're a twelve-year-old and you _shouldn't be_ here. Leave. _Now_." The four-foot, eleven-inches shrank back to the normal four-foot, ten-inches.

And Madeleine fled.

**-=-(*)-=-**

She could feel Luke's instant regret, but Katherine's usual haughtiness behind her, expressed more potently than most days. The hallway fell back behind the girl, and there was Olivia's soft look of worry and concern from the kitchen. If Jane said anything, her sister didn't hear her. And then Madeleine was outside in the slight clearing the surrounded the house; and then into the woods.

There was no underbrush around her as she was running near the house, but as she ran, Madeleine could vaguely see the ferns around her thickening, and shrubs growing more numerous. The girl's throat choked, but the tears wouldn't come, and Madeleine pressed onward. Her legs seemed to understand, and they didn't tire, but her heart trembled, pumping doubly with the un-shed tears and running like there was no tomorrow.

Madeleine's heart finally won out. The girl collapsed against an enormous pine tree, her tattered breath coming out in ragged gasps. Madeleine's throat burned like she had thrust a burning faggot of wood down it, adding to her torture. To breathe was to bitterly increase the flames. And to move? It was scathing.

But the tears that would solve everything wouldn't come. They were locked up tight in a secret place where no key was known. They were contained- torturing her with their agonizing closeness. But it was almost as if she was saving them for a time much more important than this. It wasn't a container where her tears were playing keep-away, it was a savings box- storing them for later use. But either way, they couldn't come.

Madeleine gripped the tree as tight as she could, sobs raking her body like an aspen tree in the wind. It helped to hug something, even a tree; and it offered un-matched comfort. Time passed un-heeded, and presently Madeleine climbed into the tree and settled on one of its lower branches. Sitting there, the girl closed her eyes and wished desperately that this was all a nightmare, and most importantly- would never happen again; in real-life, or dreamland.

**-=-(*)-=-**

It was there, Gideon found her an hour later.

The man's eyebrows pulled together slightly as he looked up at the still, silent form in the tree. Thomas had led him to the area, then instantly departed as soon as Madeleine was sighted. His son apparently wanted no part in dealing with such 'immature' matters. But somehow... this was different. Gideon sensed it in the posture of the little huddled figure on the dark tree branch. _It's not anger, or fury. _Gideon gleaned expertly. _It's pain._

The man had often seen pain on Olivia's face; troubles, masked, that she had shared with him. And he had seen it sometimes on he children's faces. Not fully pain though, more anger, and fury. But in his youngest daughter? Never. She was always the cheerful one; the one willing to place herself between the other's fights and take all the pounding herself, rather than hear the hurtful words. Gideon was stunned at this figure who had changed so much, and who was shouldered with a burden no twelve-year-old ought to have been shouldered with.

Gideon sighed softly, with deep regret. _If Lucas was still alive..._ But he wasn't, and that, was that. He brushed away the momentary use of the past until he was fully in the present. "Madeleine," He looked up into the tree, half expecting the cheerful, lighthearted voice that had always greeted him.

There was no reply; only a slight twitch of Madeleine's shoulder as she hid herself away in the shadows of the tree.

"_Madeleine_," Gideon's turned-in eyebrows became a true frown as he looked up. "Please, come down."

The figure shook her head.

"_Now_."

**-=-(*)-=-**

Madeleine knew that tone. It was Luke's tone that her Father had borrowed without permission. Doing that was inexcusable. Luke spoke his own way, and it was severely improper to use it when you weren't him. It was like borrowing a horse without first telling the sole owner. The girl buried her head in her skirt, one hand wrapped around her knees, and one sticking out of the bundle to steady it on the tree limb where it was perilously balanced.

"_Madeleine, Elizabeth_."

The girl swallowed. Her father didn't do that - call her by her by her first and middle name. It had been an unspoken threat around the house that if child was called by their first, middle, and last name by Gideon, it was almost the equivalent to a death sentence. He never called them anything other than their first name. The five had always been Luke, Katie, Tom, and Jane, with Madeleine, the exception as she was screamed at so frequently. Her name was almost, 'Madeleine, Elizabeth' with the 'Cahill' tacked on if her crime was pushing past the annoying mark. But Gideon?

Madeleine fidgeted on the branch, trying to make up her mind. Suicide, it seemed like, going back to the house. Katherine and Luke would undoubtedly be on the war-path still, and as the person she was, it would undoubtedly be her obligation to sooth them. _But 'just' a twelve-year-old? And they don't care?_ Of course, that again. It brought everything full circle. She _couldn't_ go back to the house. _But I have to. It is my job after all._ Or, at least, it seemed like it.

Madeleine bit her lip, worried, scared, and cautious - or perhaps a word that combined all three.

"_Madeleine, Elizabeth_..."

Madeleine could hear the hesitation before her father tacked on the 'Cahill', and she took it. With one swing, the lithe little bundle leaped from its perch, used another neighboring branch for help, and swept to the ground in a single, smooth motion without Gideon ever getting out the, 'Cahill'.

The little face was haggard and worn. Gideon blinked slightly, surprised and worried at the transformation. There were no wrinkles, and no frown lines, but it seemed like an old woman, revealed on the inside of a twelve-year-old girl. Pain shown throughout every crack as his youngest daughter looked up at him with her singular, glass-green eyes. She still managed to be beautiful, even in anguish. Perhaps even more beautiful in these trying times.

Stepping forward, Gideon reached a hand down and lifted Madeleine's chin so she was looking him directly in the eyes. "What's wrong, Madeleine?"

"Nothing."

It was the worse lie Gideon had ever heard in his life, and to be short, he had heard a lot of them. "What is it, Madeleine? I know there's something."

"It's nothing."

Gideon smiled wryly as his daughter forgot something. "'It', means a thing," He whispered to Madeleine, who's eyes had turned away. "You're saying it's nothing, but 'it' signifies that there truly _is_ something that you think is nothing."

"But it _is_ nothing," Madeleine choked out, still not meeting Gideon's eyes.

Gideon scanned her for a few moments. It seemed real; the 'it'. Obviously, she didn't want to tell something at that moment. Straightening up, Gideon gently took Madeleine's hand and squeezed it. "Let's take a walk together, you and me."

The girl said nothing.

As they walked deeper into the forest, Gideon could smell the different trees. It was so musty here, thick, and un-walked. Each bush they passed by had a heavy odor, billowing around it. If the scent was pleasant or unpleasant designated whether they walked slow or fast when passing by. But it was so beautiful. Sunlight was filtered through the pine branches, creating miniature mosaics on the thick moss where they walked; and with the smell of pine so thick, Gideon wondered slightly if they would smell like that when they went back home.

Madeleine was silent beside him. There was no resistance, only an apathetic, lifeless trudge of one foot in front of the other. It only confirmed Gideon theory that Madeleine was nowhere in the world at the present time. Suddenly there was a slight sniff. No matter how quiet it was, the sound rebounded through the trees, making it fifty times louder than it really was. Gideon stopped and turned to his daughter, worried.

"Why were you crying?"

Humorously, Madeleine's green eyes somehow managed to make their owner look genuinely innocent. Gideon tried hard not to laugh. "I wasn't crying."

Another lie. Gideon wondered if he should start counting, and then take her out to the woodpile after dusk. "Then why did you run out here? Your mother was worried."

"To be alone with my thoughts." And there was no comment on Olivia's fright.

Still thinking, Gideon turned away and began to walk once more. That part was probably true. While being with her the few times he had, he had usually found Madeleine preferred solitude to express her thoughts. Her last statement probably wasn't a lie. But she was still hiding something. That at least, was obvious.

Trying not to draw attention to the movement, Gideon looked down at the girl next to him. She wasn't tall; the top of her head probably came to his chest. Even while sorrowful, her feet continued to walk lightly, barely making a sound against his own heavy trudge. But everything about her lagged. There was no life. The black ringlet curls that reached all the way down to Madeleine's waist, weren't bouncing and hopping around like they had a will of their own as they usually did. They were slumped, flat, and growing more dull with every step their owner took. Her green eyes, too, were spiritless, and lacked the potency they had held before. There was no emotion in them, and that was, perhaps, the most frightening thing of all.

In all Gideon's experience – Lucas, for his numbered years - and Madeleine, both had been able to tell so much with their eyes. Any emotion, even one vague and rarely used, somehow found a way to flicker into their eyes and twist the facial mask to do whatever it wanted. He could always look that their faces and know exactly what they were feeling. Yet Madeleine- Madeleine felt _nothing_. And nothing, was just as frightening as when a simple eyelid flutter signified what new object was the center of a six-year-old's attention.

Gideon's mind searched for instances that might have been vaguely similar. Arguments... Olivia's worried face turning to him for guidance... Madeleine, offering up something... But there was nothing, again. All the other times Madeleine's face had shown _something_. Worry, or fright perhaps. Not emptiness, or this- this inner turmoil.

The two of them stopped as the trees broke off abruptly, all in a straight line. Gideon went first, feeling the change of rocks under his boot, instead of moss and pine needles. Then even the rocks broke off and went straight down. Smiling, Gideon turned to his daughter and reached out a hand to her. She stepped forward next to him and took it, looking over the edge of the drop-off. "I know where we are now," Gideon murmured softly, nudging a small rock over the edge and listening to how far it fell before it hit the bottom. "You can see this place whenever you go to town. It's the only edge in the valley where it's actually a cliff, and not just a slope."

A prick of light popped into Madeleine's eyes, and Gideon could have sighed with relief. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does it do that? You know, the valley. Why does it only do that in one place; here?"

Gideon shrugged, eyes flickering over the mountain-edged bowl that formed the valley, where in the middle, the town of Ewelle sat peacefully. "Why did God create the earth?" He spoke back rhetorically. "There are many things, Madeleine, that we shall most likely not know in this life, or the other, when we get there."

Madeleine paused for a moment, silenced. "Why did God create the earth, Father?"

Gideon had to laugh. Echoes ran around the valley, growing softer with each passing one. "I do not know, Madeleine. Perhaps he... wanted to form something out of his own hand; to give a teaspoon of happiness from heaven to share with someone. Your question is unanswerable. No more of those questions today, please, little one."

Madeleine rolled her eyes. "You did answer me," She pointed out. "Perhaps not with a decent answer, but with an 'I don't know'."

Gideon sighed and slid effortlessly into the higher, more refined speech that the higher class of the time often used. "Thee are a tough little nut to crack, Madeleine. Thou does know that, correct?"

Madeleine nodded silently, sighed, and looked out vacantly over the valley.

Turning around, Gideon spied a hollow tree trunk. Time had caused most of the rotted trunk to sink into the ground, so that only half of it was showing, but it created a perfect seat. With a gentle tug on Madeleine's hand, Gideon led her to the seat and gestured to sit down on it. She did, making no fuss about how the dirt would probably ruin her skirt.

There was still silence for a while. It appeared to Gideon, that Madeleine watched the shadows creep out from the cliff, formed by the setting sun behind them. It was almost time for dinner, but Gideon still hadn't gotten the answer he wanted. He waited until Madeleine seemed comfortable enough, letting down her guard. Then he turned towards her and made his move. "So what is wrong, Madeleine?"

There was no response; like she hadn't even heard him. Gideon waited, watching the green flicker in her eyes grow till there was enough spark in them to say what was wanted. "It's not anything. I- I just-" But she stumbled over the words, and then was silent.

"Did it have anything to do with Katherine, and Luke? I did hear them arguing when I left."

There was a paused, frantic moment where Madeleine glanced at Gideon, eyes completely terrified, like he'd broken an old taboo. He'd hit the nail. "No!" And she turned away quickly.

"Madeleine..." Gideon breathed. "You are only a twelve-year-old. Don't take matters any more serious than you have to."

"_Only_ a twelve-year-old." Gideon could hear the disgust in her words. "That's what they all say. I'm only a twelve-year-old. I can't do anything. I have to listen to older people, and respect them, and do whatever they say because I'm_ just _twelve-years-old. A _child_." Madeleine suddenly whirled towards Gideon, pain so radiant in her eyes that it stung him. "I'm not stupid, Father! I may be just twelve-years-old, but I'm _not_ _stupid_!"

Gideon took her hands gently in his. "Who told you that you were stupid?"

"Nobody did," Madeleine pulled away from him. "They don't. They think it. They _expect_ it. Whenever I mess up, or do something, or even go out on my own, they wait for the blunder. I've got to make this dress!" Sobs began to choke up the words till Gideon could barely hear them. "I've got to, Father! If I don't- I'll never be anything but the little hand-me-down that wear's Jane's old dresses. I've got to be something! I've _got_ to make it and prove that I _can_ do things on my own, and I _can _do this!"

"But you _are_ something," Gideon got down on one knee in the dirt, still holding Madeleine's hands. "You _are_ something, Madeleine. You are my _daughter_."

Madeleine pulled away from him, turning around. Her shoulders were heaving up and down, making it look like she was stuck in the middle of a 9.0 earthquake. "O-of course." The words were slow, and riddled with sobs. "Of c-course. I'm _your_ daughter. I'm Mother's helper. I'm Katherine's sidekick. I'm Luke's assistant. I'm Tom's climbing friend. I'M THEIR'S!" Madeleine fitfully snatched up a stone and tossed it off the cliff. It bounced down all the way to the bottom where the rise of the valley began. "I'm _nobody_! I'm the little girl that runs around and hangs onto Mother's apron strings.

"I want to BE somebody!" There was a stomp of Madeleine's foot as she whirled around and faced Gideon. He watched her, almost sorry. Because he knew what she'd said _was_ true. They didn't think of Madeleine on her own. Just as the little girl that appeared here, handed them something; perhaps made a joke, laughed, and then left. "I want to be _Madeleine_. I want people to come up to me, and say I like_ your_ dress. I like the music that _you _composed. That was an incredible mountain you climbed._ I want that!_"

Gideon opened his arms. It was more of a command, than an option really, and Madeleine took it without hesitation. Gideon gently cradled his youngest daughter, holding her close. She sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder and clung to him so tightly it hurt; yet after calming down, Madeleine sniffled and still held on to him; grasping at the comfort that he offered. Looking up, Gideon glanced at the sky. It was beginning to grow dark. The setting sun in the west was throwing different colors across the sky to reflect upon the snow white clouds. Using that, Gideon guessed upon a quick analogy. "Madeleine, look at the sky," He whispered. The girl's head twisted up, looking. "What colors do you see?"

The head was buried again. "White, dark blue, yellow, grey, black, green-"

"No, not like that. What are the plain colors? The ones that you usually see."

Madeleine didn't need to glance, and he didn't make her. "White, dark blue," There were a few storm clouds rolling in. They would probably hit the next day, if they didn't break up. "Grey."

"You are the first colors you named," Gideon whispered. "Brilliant and different; yet if you notice, you also named white, blue and gray in your first list. You fit and become Luke, or Katherine, or Jane whenever you want to be."

"But what about _me_?" The words were choked, and a melancholy sniff accompanied them. "What color am _I_, Father? I want a color too."

Gideon struggled for a decent answer. "Perhaps you haven't found your color yet."

Silence.

Sighing, Gideon gently hugged his daughter, then tilted her chin up so she was looking him directly in the eye. "To be a chameleon is, perhaps, the best thing of all." He whispered. "We need you, Madeleine. More than you probably ever will know. In herds of horses, there's a leading horse that directs the group. The head stallion, you might call him. And opposite of him, there's always a horse in the herd that plays around; just- doesn't really do anything. But he is _something_, Madeleine. The herd needs him just as badly as they need the head stallion to lead. They need to relax, and have fun, as well as obey orders."

There was another sniff.

"When I said that you are a chameleon, you can blend into anyone. Everybody can understand you, and you can understand everybody. I'll be honest. I can't understand a word Luke says when he goes off about the things he likes: or Tomas, when he goes on the same tangent. But you're special, Madeleine, because you _can_." Gideon paused, listening to the soft whisper of wind as it blew down into the valley. "We need you to hold our family together, Madeleine. We need you to be our little chameleon hero. Could you do that for us? For Olivia? Your mother couldn't bear to see us all torn apart."

Madeleine looked up at the sky, and the few stars that had appeared, blinking brightly. "I- I-" Gideon felt the girl's head bury itself tightly in his tunic. She was afraid. "I can... _try_, Father."

Under his hand, Madeleine's silky black ringlets almost vibrated with life. They began to pick themselves up, gathering strength; tightening the languid curls that had been so flat before. Gideon smiled and hugged the girl in his arms. "That's all I can ask, my daughter."

**-=-(*)-=-**

_That Evening;_

_It's locked._

Luke shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, debating whether he should knock, or just leave before someone spotted him standing there. There were soft shuffles in the room beyond the door, Madeleine; the twelve-year-old. Biting his lip, Luke closed his eyes and almost tried to mentally will her to open the door. Knocking would just ruin everything. It would be asking to come in, and telling everybody in the other rooms that Madeleine's door had been shut: shut, and _locked_.

The past hour burned menacingly in his mind, all a product of those words that had come so thoughtlessly out of his mouth. The girl who had come walking in with their Father for dinner, was _not_ the same girl that had run away. Madeleine had always met his eyes, smiled slightly, and then turned away. Their alliance had always been firm; so strong nobody had ever guessed it could be shaken. But that night, Madeleine's eyes didn't meet his. They stayed on the food, or if they lifted, flitted to their Father, and turned back down. Conversation was eerily silent. She had helped with the dishes, and then gone into her room, and locked the door.

Locked the door.

_Locked me out._

Luke cursed the day he had learned to speak, and raised his hand up, hesitating before he knocked. Suddenly there was a soft click. _Did I actually do that? Or did I brainstorm her that I was out here, and wanted to be let in? Or did-_ Luke stopped going over all the options in his mind like he wanted to do, and decided to see if it actually was open. He pressed slightly on the door, and it opened a crack. Then it suddenly opened all the way and Madeleine was standing in front of him, wearing a tunic far too large for her- as it was nearly falling off of one shoulder, and a pair of breeches that stretched all the way to her calves, that overlapped with the enormous boots she was wearing.

Madeleine stared up at him, eyes wide with slight surprise, and- Luke frowned, trying to figure out the emotion. And _nothing_? But that's what it was. Nothing. Absolutely, literally nothing. This wasn't his sister; not this black-haired, green-eyed twelve-year-old that cared for _nothing_.

"Why are you here?" The girl whispered. And Luke could hear the same vacancy in the words that was in her eyes. "I thought everybody was asleep."

Luke couldn't tear his eyes from her impassive face. "You must have thought wrong."

The eyes changed from impassive to filled with pain. Madeleine turned away. "Just- just go. I don't have time right now. I'm going to- to go do something."

His arm shot out before he could even register her words in his mind. Madeleine was already half-past him, sliding like an eel out of the door and outside. "What are you doing?"

"I- I don't know," Madeleine whispered, eyes still turned down. "I need to go. Be alone, for a little bit- I guess." She didn't move after that, and didn't try to escape the grip on her arm; there was no resistance whatsoever. Luke hesitated for another moment, then reached down and scooped her up in his arms. Surprisingly, Madeleine was quite light. He would have thrown her up in the air from the expected force if he hadn't stopped and readjusted himself.

But she hung there, limp, lifeless; not even caring that he was acting like she was an utter child. She had always hated that, more than anything else; and if someone had wanted to infuriate her, that was the way.

Luke closed the door with his foot, and carried Madeleine over to the bed, but didn't let her go. Struggling slightly with the light, but still heavy weight on his lap, he sat on the bed and sat Madeleine upright. Sniffing softly, she leaned against him. Luke hugged her. "What's wrong, Madeleine?" In the silent room, the whisper seemed as loud as normally talking was. "I know there's something."

"It's- It's nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Then I'm a horse, and pigs can fly." He got the expected reaction, although not on the scale he'd expected. Madeleine just smiled, and the green eyes got a little spark of life back in them. "Come on, Maddie. I know there's something. I've know you for all of your life, and a little bit more. Spit it out."

"But why should I give you my problems?" Madeleine sniffed again, then wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her head in his tunic.

Luke kissed her cheek. "Madeleine Elizabeth, how many of my problems have you taken on your shoulders? Answer me that."

"A- a lot," There was another sniff.

"Precisely," Luke murmured. "Now, spit it out."

"I- I'm only a... a twelve-year-old" He could feel Madeleine tighten at her last words. "Maybe... Katie was right- I'm not good for anything."

Luke stared at her, then he gently set her down on the bed and got to his feet. Rage suddenly consumed him, and his hands clenched tightly into fists.

"Wait- wait, Luke, where are you going?" The voice was small and weak. Luke could see everything now; the argument, Katherine's hateful words. No, it wasn't that. Madeleine could stand up to that. She had been a firm rock against the villager's rumors for her entire life. No, it was _his betrayal_. _That_ was what had crushed her. He had demolished their unspoken alliance with only a few sentences, and had turned his back on her to side with Katherine.

The rage billowed with the clearer understanding and Luke started towards the door. "I'm going to wake up Katherine, and tell her exactly what I think of all her stupid science experiments that she thinks are going to change the world. Then I'm going to drag her by her nightshirt and force her to apologize to you. And then I'm going to slap her till she's senseless and make this a night to remember for her. _That's_ what I'm going to do, Madeleine Elizabeth. Stay there."

"No! Luke, Luke, please! Wait!" Before he reached the door, there was the sound of boots running after him, then a yelp - Madeleine tripping over the soles that were too big for her, and an ugly thump. Luke spun around on his heel. Madeleine didn't need his help; she was already scrambling up, hands clenched tight on his arm in a desperate plead. "Luke, please, don't. You can't. Think- think of Mother; and you'd wake the entire house up. You can't. Please- please, don't."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't toss Katherine off of a cliff right now." Luke snapped back.

"I'll give you five," Madeleine breathed promptly. Luke could see the desperation in her eyes. She was scared; just another utterly terrified child. It didn't matter that she was probably the smartest twelve-year-old on earth. She was still scared.

"Alright... fire away."

"Mother's going to be unhappy. You know how she doesn't like us arguing. You and Katherine have already fought once today. And besides, everybody's going to wake up, and you said yourself Mother wouldn't like me dressed like this." Luke gave a quick glance to Madeleine's clothing. Sure enough, the tunic had slipped over her shoulder when she'd fallen, so the other side had tipped up. The lopsided shirt made her look almost silly, and of course, Olivia wanted order in all of her daughters. Wearing a tunic would never fly.

"Point taken."

"And then Katherine would be mad at you. She'd probably set something up. Like- you know- her water-bucket." Luke's eyebrows twisted, one raised, and the other down. _This is new..._ Madeleine paused. "Oh, you don't know. It's just- something she came up with. It would be easy to put one on your door."

"I'm listening. You need two more."

The girl seemed to flounder for more excuses. "Father would get upset when you woke him up. And- and everybody would be wondering why we'd even be up at this hour. That's more than five- isn't it?"

Luke softly closed his eyes and let a deep breath out. "Fine, Madeleine. You win. But look at me," Cupping Madeleine's chin in the palm of his hand, Luke tipped it up so she was looking him directly in the eye. "You are not, _just any_ twelve-year-old. I _never_ want to hear that out of your mouth again. You understand? You are the most important person in my life- and I don't care if you're twelve-years-old. I _love you_. I love_ you_, Madeleine Cahill. Alright? This _family_ loves you." Luke straightened up, and reached out his arms. Madeleine ran into them and squeezed him so tight around the waist it nearly choked off his breath. Luke didn't care. "Remember that, Madeleine."

They stood like that for a while, Luke gently rocking her back and forth. He could feel Madeleine in his arms, recovering from the 'nothing void' as he thought of it. She felt _alive_, solid, and something now. No, not a something, a _someone_. But the catch was obvious. She needed somebody to stay that way. No wonder she always came back, time and time again to him. She just visited Katherine, and Tom. Madeleine needed someone to follow; a _leader_, to follow. A leader, yet someone who would still care for her, and love her separately, as a whole.

And if he wanted her, wanted her as the little girl he'd always known and loved, then he could never, ever abandon her again. Luke scooped up Madeleine for the second time and laid her gently on the bed. Sitting up however, she locked her arms around him and wouldn't let go. Her brother sighed softly with a hint of humor in it. "I need to go to bed as well, Madeleine. You brought up a good point when you said it was late."

"But I don't want you to go," There was a quiet sniff from the girl.

"You'll see me in the morning."

"But I have Katherine in the morning," was the immediate protest. "And then you. Then I have Jane after that, and then Tom. Then it's dinner, and I have to-" Suddenly she stopped, almost like she was being cautious of saying too much.

"What?" Luke used both hands to pry Madeleine's fingers from around his waist.

"I have- I have something... to do, after dinner."

Luke felt his face go to stone. "Katherine again? You don't have to help her if you don't want to, Madeleine."

"No!" The protest was soft, but quick. "No, it's- it's something else."

Luke could feel a spark of curiousness coming. "What? I thought you couldn't take the material out for the red dress until the day after tomorrow."

"I can't," Madeleine shrugged, as if admitting how disappointed she was in the fact the cloth couldn't absorb the color faster. "And- and it's mine. My business, I guess you might call it. And it's only mine."

"But what is it?"

"It's mine," Madeleine said firmly.

Luke frowned, "If this is something Katherine's put you to-"

"Please," Madeleine's arms were around him again, tighter than before. Luke wondered vacantly if his neck would last long enough to drag the girl into Thomas' room and grab a crowbar to pry her loose. "Luke, it's not- it's not what you think it is. And stop getting mad when I have to go do something else. I don't mind it, really. The thing is, I'm just so torn, between- between all of you, and..." The words she was going to say trailed off.

Luke shifted his weight so he was sitting on the bed again. "'And' what, Madeleine?"

"And- and... and I'm nobody but parts of- of..." Madeleine buried her head in Luke's tunic.

"'Of' what?"

"Of all of you."

Luke felt a tremor run through Madeleine; and then suddenly she was shaking. Shaking so hard he could have pulled her fingers off of him with no effort at all. Luke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close while fixing the over-sized tunic she was wearing. He rocked her back and forth for a while, then suddenly realized something.

His tunic was wet.

Gently pushing Madeleine a little bit away, Luke looked down at the dark spot on his brown tunic, then at Madeleine. She was crying. Not just sobbing, like she usually did; really crying, with tears pouring down her cheeks and staining her own over-sized tunic darker.


	4. I'll Always Be There For You

**Alright, first off. I want to thank everyone that has been reviewing. I'm really encouraged.**

***inserted at a later date* - Since both the Prologue, the first and second chapters have been updated, this, now- also, is to be updated and SEVERLY changed. How I even managed to STOMACH what use to be here in this chapter was a miracle that I don't know how happened. So now, this is updated, and changed into a wonderful, much-better chapter.**

* * *

M: _You have fifteen minutes, Luke. _Fifteen minutes. _I wish to encourage you to write quickly._

L: _You 'wish' to 'encourage' me? Why not say: ''I'm' so 'going' to totally 'kill' you if you don't write this in 'fifteen' minutes.'_

M: _I don't feel like writing that. In fact, I really don't feel like writing at all._

L: _I'M GONE!_  
M: _HEY! Just because I said I don't feel like writing doesn't mean we're not writing this chapter. I called you over for a_ reason.

L: _That stinks. Okay. Sooner we start, sooner I'm _gone_._

* * *

**Chapter Three; "I'll Always Be There For You."**

Luke swallowed hard, then reached up and used his thumb to lightly brush the tears away. Madeleine sniffed again, then buried her head once more in his tunic. Almost in a state of shock, the older sibling still stared at her. Madeleine _never_ cried; not for a scraped knee- not after being lost in the woods: she hadn't even cried when she was four, and had been attracted to the shimmer of the copper kettle- boiling over the fire. She had, of course, screamed when her hand had touched it, and Olivia had raced immediately to her rescue, but there had been no tears. Not even the baby-Madeleine was immature.

_So why now?_

Luke tried to put his thoughts in order- into a complete, logical list like he always did. But so many things flashed in and out of his mind before he could even tell what they were, that he couldn't. It just didn't fit. Madeleine wasn't immature, that was the first thing. It wasn't even a possible option. And her crying, actually _crying_? Where on earth did _that_ fit in?

Sighing, big brother curled his arms tighter around Madeleine. She seemed to relax next to him, and his arms molded around her almost like they were made to be there. Luke's head nodded forward, coming to rest on Madeleine's curls. Then he jerked himself awake again and continued to rock her. The sobs quieted after a while, then the tears stopped flowing, and ever-so-faintly, Luke could hear her breathing deepen.

Waiting until he was entirely sure she was asleep, Luke struggled to his feet and peeled back the quilt covering her bed. Madeleine's boots were taken off, and he tucked the quilt back in around her up to her chin. The black curls fell prettily around her flushed-pink cheeks, framing her childish-mature face. Luke drew a soft breath, running his hand gently over Madeleine's cheek, then watched as an expression of pain suddenly drew down the mouth that had been so happy before.

He was severely tempted to grab her shoulders and shake her awake - force her to tell him everything. But that wouldn't work. Force didn't work with Madeleine. She would rather die than tell something if she didn't want to. But- but she was in so much _pain_. Luke's heart suddenly caught in his throat as he remembered that same face from his past - far back.

They had been arguing, him and Lucas. He could remember standing up, eyes blazing with youthful indignation and making a promise. Lucas had looked like that. He hadn't cared about the argument anymore, he was silent, in fact. But his face. His face had looked like that in the wagon bed as they traveled back from town. So tortured; ideas and threats running through a four-year-old's mind that never should have been there in the first place.

Luke could remember feeling pride at shooting down his opponent for the first five minutes, but after a few glances at Lucas' face, the feeling had been demolished. Lucas' face had held Madeleine's utter horror. There was no comfort, or naivety just because of being so young. He was an adult, and suffered, just like Madeleine was doing thirteen years later. Luke could remember his worry when they had gotten out of the wagon since Lucas still hadn't spoken to him. But when he had _denied_ the promise. That was worst than anything. Luke could still feel his horror. They had done _everything_ together. Why was this any different?

_How can they look _so much_ the same? And why not happiness? Why pain?_

Luke trailed his fingertips over his sister's cheek again. The little girl gave a sigh in her sleep and turned into his hand - clinging to him, even unconsciously. Then Luke frowned, looking closer at the pale, distraught face. Perhaps that was it. He had never thought of Lucas clinging to him. They had always been together - a two-in-one package deal. But perhaps Lucas had needed a leader, much like Madeleine needed one. Maybe... Lucas had gleaned that if Luke kept his promise, they would be separated.

It made sense. Lucas had never been the rule-breaker. If the two had wanted cookies, Luke had always been the one to snitch them from the tray, with Lucas standing guard. And in revenge as well, Luke had been the one to stick the burr under Gideon's saddle whenever he went to town alone and decided not to take the two of them; yet Lucas was always there in the near sidelines, participating, but still hanging back enough he wasn't doing anything. But in mischief he was first, always being the one to gather up eight ears of corn, and whenever Olivia had finished the first batch that she had gathered for dinner- switched out her shucked ears with his un-shucked. It _had_ been funny to watch Olivia think she was going nuts and shuck about thirty ears of corn.

The vague memory brought a faint smile to Luke's lips, and he leaned down and kissed his sister's forehead before he started out of the room. His promise would be a breaking of just about every moral in the book, and if there was anything Lucas couldn't stand, it was that. So perhaps that was it. Leaving them - Lucas or Madeleine, would be like killing them from the inside out.

Luke paused in the hallway before he opened his door. The Cahill home was always a noisy place, even at night. Deep throaty snores were issuing from Thomas' door, as well as from Gideon's. It sounded like Jane was managing to hum a sonata in her sleep - an impressive ability, even for a seasoned composer. Katherine's mechanical wind-chimes were scheduled to ring softly every half-hour, although Luke had no idea why you needed to know that when you were asleep. But Madeleine's door was silent.

Luke walked inside his room and blew out the tallow candle that was burning on his desk. As he climbed under his quilt, he could see the glowing purple vial Madeleine had left to his safekeeping. He could remember Madeleine's innocent, curious face as she announced her idea to him a few days before. _"It'll be marvelous, Luke! Can't you see? If we can balance all the chemicals out together correctly, then it _should_ work like it's suppose to."_ Should. There had been a raise of his eyebrow. _"And what is this vial suppose to do?" _Madeleine's cheeks had flushed a vivid red. _"It's- it's suppose to keep us from dying. Our bodies die, not our spirits, supposably. If- if we could_ change_ that using added chemicals that, so our spirits are just... temporarily suspended- I guess, then we wouldn't die- _really die_ - as long as the vial is there. That would work for all of us; Katie, Tom, Jane; you, me - don't you think?"_

And of course, he had gone along with it. Madeleine's green eyes had been irresistible. Somehow... _Somehow I've got to be the one to prove I don't care how old she is._

And Luke fell asleep.

* * *

M: _Scoot, Luke. You're out of here now. Yup, bye!_

* * *

_The Next Day, Evening;_

Madeleine winced as another straw filled with hot milk, was deposited on her lap as Dani pulled away again. "Come on..." Madeleine muttered, filled up the straw again, and held her finger carefully against the top so none of the milk would run out. Dani drank about half a straw, then pulled his mouth away and the rest of the milk spilled on Madeleine's apron. "I could actually swear that you're doing this on purpose," Madeleine's eyes flashed, but she filled up the straw again. An idea suddenly hitting her, Madeleine emptied the straw, then filled it up halfway.

That seemed to solve the problem. Dani drank the half-straw, and Madeleine was able to stop wearing the absurd apron on her lap to prevent the milk from staining her dress.

After Dani was fed and wrapped up warmly, the girl peeked out her window. It was starting to get dark, and outside, the bottoms of the pine trees were beginning turn a dark brownish-gray. Madeleine leaned against the windowsill and sighed softly. The outdoors had always seemed to be a forbidden place. Perhaps not exactly forbidden, as she had been outside with Thomas that very after noon, but closed off to her.

She adored everything about the woods though - the silence, the soft, green, moss-covered ground; the peace that came from it. But she wasn't suppose to be outdoors alone, technically. Only with Thomas, and then she had to tell somebody if she wanted to go out herself. The torture of the pine-scented breeze was excruciating. There was hesitation for a few more moment, and then Madeleine slid out of her window and landed softly on the grassy ground. What did it matter if nobody knew where she was going? She'd be back soon enough - maybe.

* * *

M: _Ah... Hello, Edward._

E: _Remind me why you called me here to do what?_

M: _Remind me why you came here with a bag of Cheetos. Get rid of those._

E: _That wasn't a question._

M: _I EXPECT AN ANSWER!_

E: _Geezie! Calm down, calm down. Fine. Out to the kitchen... and back. So why am I here?_

M: _I am writing the story of my life- exactly how it happened, and you make appearances. Everybody who makes appearences is suppose to write. I just kicked Luke out, by the way, because you and him ought not to be writing at the same time yet. I'm frightened at how that would turn out..._

E: _SWEET! I'M _CO-AUTHOR!  
M: _Oh, shut up! No you're not! I'm the author. Luke's the co-author, since he called it first, and you get to be the editor. There are like- fifteen pages you need to correct and edit from previous chapters, by the way._

E: Fif-teen. Pages. _You better be pulling my leg, Madeleine._

M: _It's not_ THAT _much. I mean, if I've got everything down right, there's going to be about 250 pages in the book. You're the editor. You're going to do all of them._

E: Two. Hundred. And. Fifty. Pages. _No way. I'll skip out of town._

M: _Not that much. I was going to do a continuous trilogy about our lives, and that might add up to be 700 pages._

E: Seven. Hundred. Pages. _I am _NOT _the editor_. _Sorry, Mads._

M: _Eh, sorry. You're doing it whether you like it or not. Chew on that. Let's start writing. We've got an hour before we have to go to Ian's._

E: Editor...

* * *

Brushing off her blue dress, Madeleine looked around the woods with an expression of pleasure on her young face. Excitement began to burrow into her as she looked around at the place where she had never gone _alone_. Nearly giddy with excitement, Madeleine leaned down, fastened her boots tighter, then started walking into the trees.

It was deathly silent around her, only broken by the crunching of pine needles underfoot. Looking around, Madeleine tried to gather in which direction she was going so she would be able to find her way back to the house. East. Well, northeast, with reservations, as she was walking left around all the trees so she was going south... So... Southeast?

Madeleine turned to her right and faced north, making sure she had everything right.

_East- left, north- front, south- behind, west- to my right. Right?_ She suddenly understood why Gideon had never let her go out alone.

* * *

E: _HAHAHA!_ LOST!

M: _I was not! I was gaining my bearings!_

E: _You were lo-ost... You were lo-ost... You were lo-ost...!_

M: _Oh, shut up and start writing, will you?_

* * *

She had only been a few minutes in the forest and all of the trees looked the same. Sure, one branch was sticking down at an awkward angle, and another on a different tree split into two forks, and then the two forks splitting down their own middles after that, but they were all pine trees. _All the same._

The girl took a deep breath and forced herself not to panic. With calm assurance, she started walking north. She wasn't _that_ far from the house anyway. If she had to spend the night out, and they missed her in the morning, she'd be found quickly. Cheered, Madeleine began listening to the forest around her.

The silence didn't seem as quiet now. There were the soft, night-calls of doves and mini rustles in the grass; most likely field mice, or rabbits even- perhaps. After a few more minutes of walking north, Madeleine stopped against an old, moss-covered pine tree and sat on the ground. Within a few moments, the forest began to come alive around her. An enormous beetle began tunneling in the pine needles about a foot away from her left ankle. Madeleine swallowed hard, but eventually curiosity won out and she watched the beetle dig away until it was completely immersed in the soil.

A rabbit came by, visiting, apparently, because there was good grass underneath the pine needles where Madeleine sat. The rabbit stared at her for a long minute with its soft brown eyes, then lowered its head and began to nibble away. Madeleine didn't dare breathe.

The fox crept up from the west, being careful to not be seen. Madeleine was completely oblivious anyway, having only eyes for the rabbit, and the rabbit only wanted his grass. A few seconds later, the fox pounced forward. Both Madeleine and the rabbit jumped, then both animals were instantaneously gone in a flash of red, black, white and brown fur. Madeleine worried over the rabbit for a few moments, then laughed and settled back in sitting position to wait for the next unexpected woodland show.

Bats flitted around in the heavy dusk. Madeleine could see their lithe shapes as they darted around, and around- aiming precisely for the gnats and moths that were enjoying the evening. An owl hooted somewhere, reminding the girl that she was technically suppose to be in bed. Up above, fireflies danced, lighting up the clearing with their brilliance. Madeleine wondered if she ought to catch a few, just to show to Katherine later. Her eyelids were too heavy though, to move, and her head felt unreasonably heavy. She breathed in the twilight air and smiled at the heavy pine smell.

Madeleine heard the hoofbeats then.

The woodland life was already starting to disappear into the dark shadows. Fidgeting, the girl grew antsier as the hoofbeats gained volume. But was the rider going to turn away? Or did he know she was here? Or perhaps it was Luke, looking for her. Madeleine frowned, knowing that Luke was in bed, obviously. He never liked to stay up late, for many reasons. Besides, he didn't even know she was out, unless he'd looked. And why on earth would he look?

Scrambling up, Madeleine hid behind the tree. Her heart pounded double-time for some reason, and she almost felt- _afraid?_ The girl bit her lip, vivid imagination whirling. Who was riding in the forest at this hour of night?

The hoofbeats didn't turn away. They came closer, closer, and then suddenly the someone galloped straight out into the clearing riding on an enormous beast, nearly one and half times Madeleine's height. The mystery rider pulled back on the reigns when he was halfway across the clearing, and then he had dismounted and was stroking the beast's head. Madeleine's breath caught in her throat and she turned towards the south- her back to the tree, so she could run away. Her legs were a mixture of cement and pudding, of course, and they wouldn't move to save her life. Literally, more or less.

Gathering strength to confront him, the girl realized she had none, and her tongue had turned to sickening lead. Her stomach churned.

It was a boy though- the rider. Madeleine could see the back of his tunic and the golden color of his cropped hair. He moved quickly, patting the beast, then kneeling down and gathering up one of the hooves. Noticing much in her momentary glance, the girl saw the beast didn't have cloven hooves like an ox had. So that crossed one animal off the list...

"Hey!" The boy gave a light laugh. He was crouched down on the left side of the beast, and staring at a few markings on the ground where the fox and rabbit had run through. Madeleine peered out from behind the tree again, daring in an burst of courage, to slightly expose herself. "What do you know, Carrie? Looks like old Red-Hide and Long Ears have been up to it again. Who's your money on?"

The beast snorted, almost as if it was laughing at all the foolish talk.

"Red-Hide, eh? You know he hasn't caught a rabbit in the entire decade he's been alive."

Another snort.

"Still? Well my money's on Long Ears, you can bet your own winter coat. Eh, Car?"

A whinny from the beast. Madeleine ducked behind the tree, almost certain of the boy's demolition. But of course, there was no sound. She peeked out again and saw the boy rubbing the beast's long nose. He was talking softly now, face almost up against the large cheek. The beast's ears were both rotated towards him- perked, listening. Madeleine strained her own ears to listen in, and unknowingly stepped a bit farther out from behind the tree.

"Good girl..." The boy smiled, reaching over to stroke the beast's neck. "Always a good listener, aren't you. Always listening to me talk too much. That's what happens when you haven't got anybody to talk to, except a horse."

So that was what the beast was called. Madeleine stepped closer, coming out from behind the tree entirely, but with a cautious hand on the trunk- almost as if to gather the tree's comfort.

"Why did I come here, Carrie?" There was another whisper from the boy, so soft Madeleine had to talk another step forward just to hear it. "Holland's so far away. It's not fair, is it, that I've got to be the one wandering- always traveling, is it?"

The horse nickered softly, and leaned its head forward to gently nudge the boy's face.

"I know, Car. I need to be getting you inside, don't I? It's too nice out here though. You sure you want to go in?"

Another nicker and a soft blow of breath to finish. Madeleine stepped forward once more. It was almost like the power of the horse and the boy together, was pulling her in- taming her. She could feel her heartbeat slow eventually, and her breathing calm down. Then the horse looked at her and snorted softly. All fear poured back. Madeleine's eyes grew wide, terrified, and the girl stumbled backward a few steps.

The boy's eyes pierced her a second later. They were blue, a light- never-seen-in-France kind of blue. Madeleine took another step backward and pressed against the tree, eyes still unable to tear away and locked in horror. "Hey," The boy smiled slightly. "Hey, it's alright. Who are you? There aren't that many people out in the woods at night."

* * *

M: _Oh, yes, Edward. There aren't that many people out at night... Sure. You were there, ruffian. And I still can't get over the fact you were talking to Carrie like she was actually talking _back _to you. Weird..._

E: _Shut up. Since I was usually the only one, there isn't much you can say. And Carrie was a good listener. What might of happened if I hadn't said anything? Lost my voice? "Ello... m-u mook merry mwi-se."_

M: _Sure, Ed... Sure there isn't... And technically, you talk a lot anyway. So maybe it would have helped with that._

E: _Yeah :: Right. In your DrEaMs, Madeleine._

M: _And I am stuck with _you_..._

* * *

For a second, Madeleine wagged her useless leaden tongue in her mouth, trying to remember the alphabet and the multiple sounds that formed it. Her brain was blank, of course.

The boy took a few casual steps forward. His head was cocked in curiosity now, eyes scanning her up and down in wonder. "Are you lost? I mean, do you live around here? Maybe I can take you home. I know the woods pretty well. Not great, in the dark like this, but I'm sure I could find the town."

Madeleine swallowed hard and wished the tree's trunk could split open and eat her up whole. Oh, why hadn't she bothered to sling a shawl or something over her shoulders when she'd left? And her bodice! Madeleine turned a beet red and wondered if she should try and tighten it. Her tongue curled up tight in her mouth and wouldn't relax for anything.

"Are you mute?" The boy came closer. "It's alright, really. I won't hurt you, and Carrie won't either, if that's who you're worried about. It's alright."

"W-who are you?" Madeleine cursed her tongue.

"Me?" The boy's eyes looked mildly surprised, then grinned. "Oh, I'm Edward."

"Does Father know you're here?" Gaining her confidence, Madeleine tried to force all her fear into her eyes and cause intimidation. It didn't work, that much.

"Father..." Edward's face turned confused, then grinned again. "You mean Gideon, don't you. I would hope he knows I'm here. I've stuck around for eight years working for him. You're one of the Cahill girls then, aren't you?"

"Does it matter?"

Edward shrugged. "Sure it does. Means I can take you home, if you want me to."

"Why on earth would I want you to take me home?" Madeleine glared at him.

Edward took a step back, and Madeleine felt rather proud she had gained a small victory. "Just asking, doesn't mean I was going to kidnap you. Do all your sisters have the same temper?"

"Does it matter?

A curious look spread over Edward's face. His left eyebrow was raised, and a half-smile twitched upward to the left. "Sure it does. Means that none of them are going to get married to decent husbands if they're going to snap his head off at the first question."

Madeleine's mouth dropped open at his imprudence. "I could have Father discharge you!"

Edward shrugged. "Not like I've been living anywhere great for eight years. I call your bluff."

The two children stared at one another for a long minute.

"I'm going home," Madeleine finally snapped. She turned around and was thoroughly grateful her legs were working again.

There was a snort from Edward behind her. "You're going the wrong way... numskull."

Madeleine stopped dead, nearly seeing red from the injustice done from a _farmhand_. She whirled around on one heel. "I can go where I please, _dunce_."

Edward rolled his eyes and grabbed Carrie's reigns, still nonchalant. "Sure. And I'll tell Gideon where to find you when he comes all worried to the fields tomorrow. Then they can find your frozen body at the top of the valley- _dolt_."

"It's not _cold _enough to freeze, _moron_."

"Can't you smell the storm on the air, _half-wit_?"

* * *

M: _Those brownies are for tomorrow's lunch, dummy!_

E: _I'm only eating one, fusspot. Relax._

M: _No, you're eating five. I see that container behind your back, pudding-head._

E: _Brownie-head to you, dullard._

M: _Cookie-head, half-wit._

E: _Brownie._

M: _Cookie._

E: _Brownie._

M. _Cookie._

E: Brownie! _I like brownies more._

M: _Fine. Sure, whatever, dope. I can't believe we're actually arguing over what names you're suppose to be called by..._

* * *

Seething with rage, Madeleine flung herself to the nearest pine cone and hurled it at Carrie. The horse reared up, and Edward had to dodge the dangerous hooves flying beside him. The boy landed on the ground, then rolled away before the prancing hooves that had landed on the ground could squash his head.

"What was _that_ for?"

* * *

E: _Yeah, what_ WAS _that for?_  
M: _For eating those six brownies. Put the plate away. You're not going to have any for lunch tomorrow._

E: _Like there would be any anyway..._

* * *

Madeleine could vaguely see his outline that was straightening up. It was too dark now, without the fireflies. "I don't appreciate being called names by a _servant_."

Dead silence. Neither dark figure moved, staring unwaveringly at each other. Madeleine could see Edward's eyes though- still piercing the darkness around them. They were uncontrollably angry, so blue they were ice through and through. Then they took three strides forward and Madeleine suddenly felt two hands grab her wrists. She gasped in pain as they were twisted backward and forced behind her back. Edward's face was five inches from hers. "I don't fight girls," He breathed. "But you just might be an exception."

Madeleine struggled with the black behind her eyes. Breathing deep, she forced her wrists to break Edward's hold, then she slid them up and grasped his own wrists. Using his weight, she leaned him back, placed her boots against his chest and pushed.

Both children flew apart from each other. Madeleine flipped in the air and landed on her hands and knees. She could hear the rip of her skirts as she fell forward, but she didn't care. She was free, at least.

Looking across the clearing, the twelve-year-old met Edward's eyes. His expression was frightening. "You're dead," He hissed.

Madeleine scrambled up and lunged to the nearest tree to climb up it, but as soon as she'd reached it she was crushed into the bark. She gave another gasp of pain at Edward's weight. Then she felt his hands at her back, undoing something. Madeleine kicked backward, desperately trying to hit his leg, or _something_ at least. "Let_ go_ of me, you filthy, dirty, lying, _creep_! _Father_!"

Edward gave a bark of laughter under his breath. "Just hold still," He promised.

Madeleine felt a knee pinning her down against the tree, and she wished she could authentically 'hate' someone to pieces. She gasped for air, then as she let it out with a mess of curses, she felt her bodice tightening. Tightening like she never liked it tightened; tightened it like not even Olivia had done. Her ribs bitterly groaned under the pressure, snapping with the unaccustomed weight.

Madeleine fought, pressing back and trying to force her ribs to where they were before, but she could feel Edward's hands forcing the bodice's drawstrings ever-tighter. There was a pause for a moment then, and suddenly Edward's knee and hands dropped. Madeleine spun around, beginning to get dizzy from lack of air. She reached in back of her dress for the strings, but of course, Edward stopped her, grabbing her wrists again.

"Alright," The boy gave her a little shake. "Here's the deal. You can call me whatever you want. I don't care. I can take a 'moron' an 'imbecile' and a 'dolt'. I can stand being a farm hand. I've worked as one for nearly all my life- but I am _not_ a _servant_. Call me all you please, but, not, that."

Madeleine could feel the world tipping dangerously under her, rocking back and forth; black flickered in front of her eyes. "Fine, what- whatever you say- numskull."

Edward chuckled, then she felt a hand reaching in back of her and the drawstrings popped. Air flooded her lungs, and Madeleine stumbled back against the tree in relief. "What was _that_ for?"

One eyebrow was lazily raised. "Why do _you_ think I did that?"

"You- you- you could have _killed_ me!" Madeleine gasped, stumbling backwards against the tree. She could feel her legs trembling violently underneath her - breaking with Edward's blue gaze and lack of air to strengthen them.

"But I didn't, obviously." The boy snorted, then the nearly-glowing blue eyes turned away and Madeleine could hear items being softly knocked around. "Stop it, Carrie," There was a sudden mumble. "I don't want to play tag in the dark. You might be able to see, but I can't. Hey, _quit it_!" More rummaging. "_Carrie..._"

Madeleine bit her lip as she leaned against the tree, wondering slightly if she could somehow conjure up a spell and become part of the tree's bark. And if she couldn't, how far she could run before Edward and Carrie would catch her.

"OW!" There was a sickly gasp of pain and Madeleine could hear one foot jumping up and down - crunching pine needles and making a complete racket. "You OAF! You- _daughter of_ PIGS! You- you ANIMAL! I told you not to step there. I was leaning against you. You did it on purpose you- you ball of _hide_!... God, my foot... _Ow..._"

Intrigued, Madeleine decided to ignore her beeping internal alarm and step forward slightly. "Are you alright, E... Edward?"

A bitter laugh from the dark in the middle of the clearing. The sun had almost entirely set, making anything and everything under the trees shrouded in shadow. "I'm fine. Stupid horse nearly broke my toe, I think, but I'll be fine."

Madeleine could almost feel Edward's sudden wince of pain as he set his foot down. "Sure?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Here..." The sound of rummaging started again, followed by a sigh of relief from Edward. "I got it now. Hang on a second..." Madeleine smiled at the small flame that grew inside the hand lantern. The clearing was illuminated again. Two moths, seeing the light, instantly began to fly around it. Edward held it up and towards her, slightly, then he turned aside and swung atop Carrie. Carrie shook rather nervously, but placidly accepted her rider and the strange light he was holding.

"Well, you coming?"*

Madeleine stepped back against the tree. "Coming where?"

Another snort. "Home, of course. Not like I could take you to Paris on a night like this."

"I don't appreciate your jokes."

* * *

E: _You NEVER appreciate my jokes. It's like, a rule..._

M:_ That's not true. I do like your jokes, sometimes, anyway. It was just the middle of the night then. I was tired, and I was scared, and you were annoying the crap out of me. And you really don't tell jokes, you're just SERIOUSLY sarcastic._

E: _Eh, you're probably right there. Sarcasam _RULES.

M: _I agree with you, for once. Let's keep writing._

* * *

"Shut up and tell me, will you?" Edward snapped. "If you want to spend the night out here, fine. I've got better things to do that ride you home. I've still got an hour's walk ahead of me - all the way to Ewelle. Plus I've got to get Carrie watered, fed and stabled before that. Choose. And choose fast."

Madeleine stared into his eyes. Like Luke, she had a bit of a talent for reading faces. Edward was being completely honest. Perhaps he was slightly worried about what would happen to him if she died in the cold and Gideon found out, but he _was_ worried about her. The girl sighed resignedly and stepped forward.

"Great," Edward dismounted and set the lantern on the ground. "One more thing I need to do. Gideon better give me a raise after this. Alright, now put your foot into the stirrup. Like- no, stupid! The other foot. How in all the world do you think you're going to be able to mount a horse with your legs crossed like that? You'd be sitting backwards. Oh, quit yapping, will you? Yeah, other foot. And... up."

* * *

M: _I don't think I ever forgot that first horse-riding lesson. _

E: _Of course. And I actually... edited... there... You know._

M: _Oh, yeah. I remember. It wasn't me who had the sharpest tongue in Ewelle (or outskirts) it was _you.

E: _Bad words are edited... keep writing._

* * *

Madeleine hunched forward in the saddle. The lantern light seemed so far below - like a star - from up here. She grasped the lip of the saddle and clung desperately to it for dear life.

"Relax," There was a heavy jar behind her, and Madeleine could feel Edward settle onto the room of the saddle left. He was close, too. _Far_ too close for her liking. "Carrie's never going to feel comfortable with you scared out of your wits like that."

"I want to sit behind you," Madeleine swallowed hard. Carrie shifted her weight uneasily and the girl riding gave a little yelp.

Edward barked a laugh. "And have you fall off? Gideon would tan my hide. Nope. You're sitting right in front where I can keep an arm and an eye on you." In response to his words, Madeleine felt Edward's arm wrap snugly around her waist, still managing to hold both reigns in one hand. She was momentarily surprised by the strength of his grasp though. The hold was firm- cautious, of course, but with a gentle edge to it. A funny-feeling warmth spread through her body and settled right in her chest.

Carrie started walking.

Madeleine could feel the soft plod of the creature beneath her. Each step was a precise rhythm, developed over hundreds of years of breeding. Edward's back was ram-rod straight behind her, yet he let himself fall up and down, still moving with the rhythm Carrie set.

"So who are you?" Madeleine jumped at the words, falling out of the walking beat. "You said you were one of the Cahill daughters, but which one are you? You're too young to be Katherine, I know that much, at least. But- not... you know, I don't know any more."

"I'm the youngest," Madeleine stated simply. "Youngest child, youngest daughter. I'm both."

"Ah," Edward breathed, nodding. "But what are you doing out here all alone? If I know anything about Gideon, he wouldn't allow you - or any of your other sisters either, for that matter- out of the house at night. Doesn't seem to fit him."

"I snuck out, doofus," Madeleine snapped. "What do you think?"

"Easy, easy... chill. I'm not asking questions to find ways to insult you."

Madeleine frowned, suddenly more than aware of Edward's arm around her. "Never said you were, did I?"

Edward was silent for a few yards. "You're defensive," He finally breathed. "And scared. I'm not doing anything to help that, am I."

Nearly blind with rage, Madeleine somehow managed to hold her tongue.

"I've been working here for a while," Edward's tone was even and monotonous, more like a monologue than a splinter for conversation starters. "Six years, as I said before. It's not bad, considering that most of the farmers here grow artichokes and flax," Edward shuddered. "I hate artichokes, and raising them is even _worse_."

Madeleine smiled in spite of herself.

"Then I could have gone with the blacksmith route. There's plenty of them in Ewelle. They say that the fires never die there, and I've got to agree with them. The problem was that six years ago, there was no chance an eight-year-old would be hired to do blacksmith work - for any rhyme or reason. So I stuck with farming."

"You're fourteen?" Madeleine murmured.

"Fourteen," Edward agreed. And almost with a non-given signal, Carrie broke into a smooth canter-trot. The trees seemed to whiz by, and Madeleine shrank into Edward - closing her eyes to get away from the blurring woods. She couldn't shut her ears though. "Gideon had just got Carrie when I came along," Edward chuckled. "She was a flighty thing, and she wouldn't let a harness be put on if she could help it. We just- got along well. So I stuck around doing odd jobs on the place."

"Farm," Madeleine corrected him.

It felt like Edward was trying hard not to laugh. "Place. This isn't a farm. A farm is where the sole purpose is to sell goods, as well as produce enough to provide for a family."

Madeleine wished she could spit on the hand that was holding her. "A farm is a place where you grow things."

"Former."

"Latter."

"Former, I'm quite sure."

"_Latter_, Edward."

"Former, youngest daughter of the Cahill family."

"Shut up."

* * *

M: _Shut up. The best words ever invented in the English language._

E: _Yup. Have to agree with that one. Best words ever._

* * *

The arm around Madeleine's waist grew tight with Edward's laughter. When he laughed, Edward_ laughed_ - like Thomas, or Gideon. She could feel him shaking nearly uncontrollably behind her. Raging, Madeleine snatched the reigns from Edward's hand and leaned forward next to Carrie's neck while kicking the horse. Of course, Carrie shot forward like a bullet.

Edward came quite close to falling off.

Madeleine felt his arms clamp around her hard, almost cutting off her breath. She gathered the reigns and urged Carrie forward. Maybe he _would_ fall off - and break his neck. Then the world would be rid of at least one brainless person. There was slight regret for that thought immediately afterward, but Madeleine quieted her conscience. Brainless people deserved what they got - a broken arm, or head, included.

Edward's surprise was beginning to wear off. Madeleine could feel him leaning forward and grabbing onto her to make sure he didn't lose his balance. With almost a feeling of desperation, she jerked the reign she was holding in her right hand far back. The hands around her waist flailed wildly trying to regain the balance they'd lost. Carrie didn't appreciate her mouth being yanked by an inexperienced rider though. With an angry snort, the horse stopped dead, hunched her back, and flung her heels up into the air.

Madeleine could see a wall of bark coming closer, and then everything -

_Thud._

* * *

_The worst night. Not the third-worst, not the second-worst: The Worst. Period._

Edward opened his eyes.

Carrie was slobbering all over him. The gross, green, second-time-cud-chewed horse slobber that made cows and oxen's slobber look like cake. _Ew. _"Get off me," Edward shoved her nose away and managed to lurch to his feet.

The lantern was lying on the ground, blown out with the wind from the drop. Edward relit it and looked at Carrie. She still had her saddle on. That was good. Leaning down, Edward checked the girth strap out of habit. It was tight, maybe a little too tight. He loosened it. Edward glanced at Carrie's reigns next. None of the straps had been broken, but it looked like she had gotten cut slightly in the corner of her mouth where that stupid girl had yanked on the reigns.

Oh, great. The girl.

Edward made a disgusted face at Carrie. "She's quite the picture, isn't she. Can't teach her anything, I'll bet," He gave a low chuckle and patted Carrie's neck. "It's a wonder old Gid doesn't complain every time he goes out to the fields. I would. Could you imagine _her_ as a daughter?"

A nicker from Carrie. The horse nosed his pockets for a lump of sugar, or a treat of a similar nature.

Edward dug into his breeches and held out the misshapen lump of sweetness. "That was suppose to be an after-dinner treat."

Carrie took it anyway.

"Pig," But Edward smiled and leaned against the horse. She deserved it, even though she wasn't suppose to have that much sugar - having a crazy girl-rider and all. "Should we even take her home at all, Car? What do you think? She doesn't want us to take her home. We could leave her here. She'd die in the night, and we can tell old Gid we knew nothing about her. Be quite simple, actually."

A whinny.

"You're right. She's a handful. I'll give her that much. A handful of trouble. She's over there by the oak, isn't she - knocked out straight. Should we leave her there? It's up to you."

The woods were silent as Carrie licked the remainder of the sugar off her teeth.

"No," Edward answered for her. "No, of course we can't leave her there; whatever the trouble. Firstly, because I could never lie to Gideon. Secondly, if I told him the truth, there would be a fire of questions _why_ I didn't save her. And thirdly, I couldn't let her die. Be nice, but I couldn't. You couldn't either, could you, Car?"

A snort from the horse.

"That's right," Edward sighed. "No matter. Perhaps we shouldn't wake her up, and then we'd just sling her on the saddle and drop her off at the house. We _did_ bring her home then. It wouldn't be our fault if she died because she didn't wake up."

A whinny.

"But we're nicer than that, right Car? We're going to wake her up and take her home - whatever she says, just because she's Gideon's daughter, and I'd get fired if I didn't."

Edward turned around, still holding Carrie's reigns in one hand and the lantern in the other. Madeleine was lying on the ground by the oak tree, head twisted at an unnatural, awkward angle from her fall. Her black curls were spread out prettily around her, but they were knotted now, with a few leaves and blades of grass inserted at intervals. The hem of the blue dress she was wearing was ripped in three places, adding to the disheveled look of the girl.

But she was _pretty_.

Edward held the lantern out over Madeleine, still watching her. Her face was round, and evenly proportioned in sweetness. While unconscious, there was a continuous upper turn on the red lips, making her look as if she was going to open her eyes at any moment and smile. Her lashes were long and thick - covered with a thin layer of brown dust now, but later, Edward was quite sure they'd be jet black like her hair.

She was perfect - nearly. While her mouth was upward, her eyebrows were pulled slightly down, making her look as if she was worried - not about herself. It wasn't a pouting frown. It was almost more of an inner conflict: an inner conflict caused by an outside problem. She was pale too. Unnaturally pale, almost. It was like the sun had decided that she was unworthy of it's glare - or perhaps too fine, and had skipped over her. The girl's hands, though tiny, lithe and wiry, were worn; and there was dirt under her thumbnails. Edward tried to put the puzzle pieces together.

She was happy, or continuously glad - obviously. But she was worried over something she didn't have anything to do with, but had put herself in the middle. She had done something outside, from the dirt, but her hands were quick and strong besides. She had the airs of a princess, but wasn't above thrusting her hands into the soil. It looked like she enjoyed doing that, too.

Edward smiled wryly. Yes, she was worth saving - even with her magpie-like tongue that was sharper than a two-edged sword.

* * *

M: _Oh, THANKS!_

E: _You're welcome._

M: _Sharper than a two-edged sword... my eye..._

* * *

"I want to sit behind."

Edward tightened Carrie's bridle chin strap for the third time, dreading the moment he had to swing up and settle behind the girl. "Not happening."

"I _want to_, Edward."

Edward snorted, took the reigns from Madeleine and swung up into the saddle. "I'm not going to have Gideon wring my neck because you broke yours falling off of a horse in the middle of the night. You shouldn't be here anyway. I'll get in trouble for that alone."

"_Ow_!" Edward gasped in pain as Madeleine's elbow nonchalantly found his stomach. "You're the devil in disguise, you know that? I pity your future husband."

"Perhaps I won't find one," Madeleine's voice was sweetly innocent.

Edward snorted again. "I pray for that day. So why are you out here in the middle of the night? You never told me that."

"Should I?"

A wry smile covered Edward's face. He decided to throw the girl's tactic back in her face. "I'm riding you home. You ought to."

Silence. Of course. She didn't want to tell, but she owed him. "I don't want to go home with you."

"But you are."

Madeleine tensed to where it had to of hurt, hesitated, then suddenly relaxed under his hand. Edward glanced down at her, surprised. Madeleine's eyes were closed now, hiding their light-reflecting greenness, and her forehead was creased with wrinkles.

"Are you alright?" Edward whispered, nervously wondering if his neck would still get wrung if she told Gideon everything - even if he brought her home.

The girl stayed silent.

"Hey," Edward pulled Carrie to a gentle stop. "I mean it - are you alright?

The girl suddenly leaned down, sliding down and wrapping her arms around Carrie's neck. Edward had to let her go so he wouldn't lay on top of her. "I- I came out here be... because I was tired of being in... there," The girl gave a little sniff.

Edward dismounted and looked up at the little pale face contrasted against the brown of Carrie. "But why now? Couldn't you have come before - like, in the day?"

"But I always do that," The girl straightened up but was still hunched forward. "I always come out to Tom when he's on his break for lunch. Thirty minutes isn't enough - not thirty minutes around the house, in the garden. I don't want to be one of those girls you hear about the are so engulfed in their own thing- in the house; the garden, the about-town things, that they don't know what it's like to be outside. I don't want to be one of those girls that have never seen the sun rise over Fat Man's Buff. But- but I don't see how I can't."

Edward frowned slightly, thinking. "Fat Man's Buff: isn't that what Tom calls the hill over there?"

The girl smiled. A rather watery-looking smile, Edward thought, as she climbed down from Carrie to stand by him. He placed the lantern on the ground to illuminate the clearing better. "I promised Tom I'd climb it sometime, but it's an all-day hike, and I- I can't be gone that long, even with Tom. That- that would happen in my life. No. I'm too- too boring to be paid attention to."

Edward watched as she scooped a pine cone up from the ground and casually fired it at the fork of a tree. It lodged there with perfect accuracy. Boring? "Considering that you just turned my nightly routine upside down," Edward rolled his eyes and tried to take a lighthearted turn to the conversation. "I don't think you're that boring."

It got a little laugh out of her. "Not that boring now, maybe - at home, I'm stuck doing whatever people want me to do."

Edward scooped up another pine cone and tried to knock out the pine cone already lodged in the tree. He missed to the left by a few inches. "Whatever they want you to do? Sure?"

The girl beside him laughed - more at his throwing skills, than his words. She threw another pine cone and accomplished what he had failed. "Well, not really. It's- it's complicated. I don't... really have time to myself. Except- now. Or... fifteen minutes ago, I guess. I came out here because I wanted to be alone."

Edward laughed and threw another pine cone, then picked up Carrie's free reigns, the lantern, and started walking towards the house. Madeleine followed. "So you got stuck with me, is that right? Silence is shattered, and dirt is trodden?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Put like that - yes."

"I guess I get why you were so mad at me, but trust me, it's not like I want my head chopped off either."

"I know," The girl sighed.

Edward looked down at the melancholy pale face. She didn't act like the child she looked like. She was so... mature- like a grownup that had been placed in a child's body. "Here," Edward said the word before he realized fully what he was going to do. He ignored the resistance of his mind though, and blew out the lantern. "Follow me. I... think you might like this."

Madeleine's little hand squirmed into his, making sure she didn't lose him in the dark. Edward smiled. Carrie snorted behind him, her hooves dully clumping along as she followed them. And then the fireflies were back as they walked into a different clearing - dancing, swinging around the pair. Edward watched Madeleine's eyes whirl around, desperately trying to follow one after the other.

Pine trees stood sentential on the outskirts of the clearing, only making a break at the one entrance where they'd come in. Grass was everywhere. Edward saw the nightly drops of drew, dropping from the moss hanging on the trees. Moonlight shone down as well, helping the fireflies, and encouraging them to shine.

Madeleine was smiling now; a _real_ smile - one that showed creases at the edges of her eyes. Her hand left Edward's, and she knelt down to the ground, running her fingers over a few of the lightly illuminated violets and pansies that were growing there. Edward glanced behind him. Carrie had pulled her reigns out of his hand and was grazing placidly nearby. Dropping down, Edward smiled at the girl who was still gazing around in awe.

"Never knew it was so nice in the forest at night, eh?"

The green eyes flashed toward him with a fiery zest. "It's more beautiful than anything I've seen in my life, honest."

Edward smile, reaching up a hand to temporarily capture a firefly, then set it free. "I come here sometimes, when I don't feel that great. I always feel better afterward. It's probably the one place in the world where nobody's harmed anything. I come here to enjoy it."

The girl smiled again, this time at him. "Thank you, really. And I'm sorry - I was so mean. It was just- I wanted to go home, and you scared me right then. It was too sudden..."

Edward stood up and offered Madeleine his hand. "Let's get you home; how about that?"

* * *

_Maybe... maybe he's not _that_ bad._

Madeleine's eyes drifted wearily and her head nodded forward. Then she quickly pinched herself to make sure she stayed awake. Carrie's walk was plodding and slow - ingredients enough for sleep.

"Few more minutes," Madeleine felt Edward's arm give her a quick hug. "Not that long. Hang in there."

"I'm... trying," But Madeleine yawned, relaxing in the boy's grasp.

"... hey, you, wake up little goose. You feel asleep on me!"

Madeleine blinked. The rock of Carrie's walk had stopped. Why? _Oh, home._

"Come on, goose. It's nearly time for curfew to start, and I've still got Carrie to tend to." The girl groggily lifted her head, then let herself be scooped up into Edward's waiting arms and set gently back on the ground. She yawned again.

"Should I pinch you to get you awake, or are you going to punch my nose in?"

Madeleine had to giggle. He _was_ funny. "I'm- I'm up. I... think." Suddenly there was a wet something that landed on the back of her neck. Madeleine's eyes popped open with a start and her hand flew to the wet spot. In the light of the lantern, the girl could make out green. She spun around.

Carrie was placidly chewing her cud, unaware of the disturbance she'd caused. "Ew!" Madeleine spun back to where the sound of Edward's laughter was coming from. "That's _disgusting_!"

The boy shrugged, coming around from Carrie's opposite side. "It got you up, didn't it?"

Madeleine rolled her eyes and wiped the rest of the green spittle away. "I guess it did. Where are you going now?"

"Same place I was heading before I ran into you." Edward grinned. "Put Carrie away - go home, get a few hours sleep before I come back here in the morning."

"Thank you," Madeleine suddenly found herself smiling up at him. "For everything - and for putting up with me. That must have been a challenge."

Edward grinned as he walked around Carrie and sprang into the saddle. "No problem. But please, no more midnight walks. Try and stay in the seven, to eight range, where you can find your way home before dark."

"I'll do that."

It seemed like Edward was going to kick Carrie, but then hesitated. "Who are you? Really? I mean, not just- who you are. What's your name?"

"Madeleine," It didn't seemed strange that Edward ought to know it. "I'm Madeleine - Madeleine Cahill."

Edward nodded, grinning. "Thanks, Madeleine. It's kind of nice to know the name of the person you saved, you know?"

"I know, thank _you_."

Carrie was spurred up and the two figures had disappeared into the dark line of trees before Madeleine could blink.

* * *

M: _Yuck._

E: _Ha. Got you up, didn't it?_

M: _Yeah... but it was DISGUSTING!_  
E: _Eh. Can't say much to that. Sorry._

M: _Anyway, Ed- you're out._

E: _Wait, what?_

M: _You're out, Luke's in. He's in the end, not you._

E: _WHAT?_

M: _Sorry. Bye. GET OVER HERE, LUKE!_  
-

L: _Why am I back? It's the Stanley Cup FINALS! I mean, SERIOUSLY! Couldn't you have chosen a BETTER TIME THAN _THIS?

M: _Oo... Like when?_

L: _Like- never._

M: _Just write. The sooner you write, the quicker you can get back to your wonderful hockey game. Honestly..._

* * *

She was in the first field.

Madeleine walked quickly towards her window, pulling leaves and other objects of outdoors, and of rather distasteful natures. Her dress was torn. She could feel the slits easily since she was able to walk two times as far as she normally could. Her petticoat was in shreds - undoubtably. But... she was happy.

Happier than she'd ever _really_ felt in her life.

Edward had stuck with her, even though she'd insulted him, even though she'd tossed him off Carrie, and he'd been helpful through it all. He had_ cared_ for her, even though he'd never seen her before in his life. Edward was a friend now, without question.

The few minutes it took to walk to her window were over quickly. The dark of her room was so, well- _dark_ compared to outside, and the moonlit scenery. Madeleine sighed with relief, swinging her legs carelessly over the windowsill and dropping to her desk right below. It took a moment before she saw the two figures standing by her door.

Madeleine felt her face completely drain of color.

"You're not suppose to be out at night, Madeleine," The smaller figure stepped out of the shadow, revealing her face with the light from the window. Jane, of course. "You're suppose to be in bed- asleep."

"You've been gone for over an hour," Luke stepped forward as well, eyes boring into her, but Madeleine could here the opening left for her own words.

"I- I went out for myself. It's... it's none of your business."

Jane's head cocked in the superior, older-sister manner that Madeleine hated. "None of our business, Madeleine? You shouldn't be out at night. Besides, Father says so. It's a good thing I got Luke, and didn't wake up Father."

Madeleine swallowed rage. She had found Edward; found Edward, seen the beauty of the woods at night- and they didn't want her to go back? And it was that stupid _age difference_ again. Madeleine found herself glaring at her sister. "I came back, didn't I?"

"With help from somebody?" It sounded like Luke was almost laughing.

And the rage boiled over. "I am _not_ a _child_!"

"We never said you were," Jane's voice was sickly-sweet and so haughty she could have been Madeleine's mother herself. "We want you _safe_, Madeleine."

"I can do things myself!" Madeleine took two steps forward and gripped her quilt in both hands, trying to direct the rage there. "_I'm not a _baby, _Jane_!"

"But you're a child, Madeleine, you still need to be watched over and helped- saved, if needed. You know- like the time you burned your hand. What would have happened if Mother hadn't been there?"

Madeleine saw red. No rage, no anger- it was fury. Fury gripped her that she was being compared to her _four-year-old self_.

"GET_ OUT_!"

She could make out the figures of Jane and Luke step back at her cry. The passion clutched her tighter. She _could_ force them to do what she wanted. She _wasn't_ a four-year-old, and she could _prove_ it.

"Get _out_, Jane_! NOW!_"

"Madeleine, you'll wake the house-"

"I don't care _WHO_ I wake!" Madeleine voice rose, spewing out like so much molten lava. "GET OUT! This is _MY_ room! And I WON'T be treated like a_ FOUR-YEAR-OLD_ HERE! Get out, _NOW_!" Madeleine grabbed the closest thing to her - a charcoal pencil - and aimed it precisely at Jane's head. The older girl dodged it, but was showered with the bits and pieces of black ash. A large dark mark was on the wall exactly where Jane's head had been.

"Madeleine, stop this, now. I didn't wake up Father because I felt I didn't need to. I will if I must."

Madeleine whirled on him. Even Luke then? So be it. "Wake him up then," She snarled. "See if I care. I'll get spanked, and I'll go without supper, but I _won't_ repent for what I did. I _will not _be treated like a _child_!"

"Si-_lence_!" Luke's voice was so commanding that even Madeleine had to pause. "Madeleine, you will not go outside at night, and you will not go outside_ at all_ without letting anyone in the family know. If Father's rule is disobeyed again, I will go directly to him the next time it is flaunted and tell him _everything_._ Everything_, Madeleine. _Do you understand?_"

"I understand that this is my room," Madeleine whispered softly under her breath, but loud enough her brother and sister could hear. "I understand that I am twelve years old. I understand that I am not a child. And I understand that I have, and am, being treated like one. I understand, and hope that you, Luke Cahill, understand my wish that I want to be respected; and you follow, and honor that wish. Do you understand _that?_"

Luke's brown eyes drilled into her. They seemed almost alive, like flaming coals - no longer part of him, but a part of themselves, alive with fire. "_Tell us, _Madeleine:you happen to be too precious to lose. _Good night_."

Luke spun around on his heel, opened the door, waited while Jane scooted outside, then closed the door behind him, and was gone.

Madeleine cried.

* * *

It was like losing Lucas all over again. Luke scribbled out what he was writing for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. Olivia had gone into Madeleine's room soon after both Luke and Jane had left. Madeleine had turned Olivia away quickly though, and now the house was eerily quiet with stewing anger.

Luke snapped his book shut and grabbed another from his nearby shelf. He found a paragraph, and then began copying down the meaningless words in his painfully precise handwriting. Mind whirling other places, Luke frowned, trying to forget Madeleine's frightened, upset, and utterly furious face.

_Oh, quit it._ Luke shut the book and slammed his pen down on his desk. His inkwell jumped. Madeleine didn't get angry, just like Madeleine didn't cry. Lucas had never lost his temper - upset, maybe, but not angry. Not _furious_. Luke sighed and gently shut the other book, then subsequent placed both back on his shelf. The other things were arranged neatly on his desk after that - the way he always had them.

The oak beams groaned as Luke sat on his bed. It wasn't like they weren't use to his weight, they'd been holding it up for fifteen years of nights. But this night they seemed resentful, as if they hated him. Luke sighed and scanned the room. He'd be leaving it soon - in two years, perhaps. The tests were to be administered in Paris, the ones that would help select the officials that could replace the old ones. This would all become a thing of the past then - Katherine and her geek-ness, Thomas and his absurd climbing obsession. And no Madeleine. Dragging a fourteen-year-old along on official tests? Even Luke had to smile.

But why now?

For some reason Luke had the fact stuck in his head. He didn't have much time left here; not much time left to spend with the people he'd always been with. If Lucas had lived, perhaps he'd be here - grinning his goofy, impish grin. Perhaps there would be someone to take to Paris, to laugh, to flirt, to 'oh' and 'ah' and not think Luke was being childish or immature. There would be someone to tease.

But that was the main thing: if.

Luke stood up and walked across his room; across the hallway, and gently opened up Madeleine's door. There was a fat lump under the quilt. "Go away. I don't want to talk."

"It's me, Maddie."

The lump was silent.

Luke closed the door, then gently sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, Mads."

"So- s-so am I."

Luke found himself raising an eyebrow. "What for?"

There was a sniff from under the quilt. "I- I _despise_ myself."

"_Why?_" The words came out harder than the boy meant them.

"I- I... yelled... at you. I... I _hated_ you, Luke. Maybe for... that one second- maybe, but I _hated_ you. I wished that you'd never... existed. Or Katie, or Tom, or Jane. I wished that I was the only one, and that Mother, Father and I- we could just- live together. How _could_ I think that?"

Luke sighed. "Don't, Maddie. It's... not worth it."

"Why not?" -a sniffle- "I deserve it."

"Because-" Luke stopped as two green eyes peeked over the quit, making the lump look less lump-ish. "Because, Maddie..." Luke shrugged helplessly. "Because I shouldn't have been so hard on you. _I'm_ sorry. I'm the one that ought to be feeling horrible. Not you."

The lump and two eyes unfurled itself and crawled out from under the quilt. Madeleine wrapped her arms around Luke and buried her head in his tunic. Smiling slightly at the feeling of deja vu, Luke hugged her tight. Then words suddenly poured into his mouth with such speed he couldn't get them out fast enough.

"I was so scared, Madeleine. When Jane woke me up- I thought something had happened, you were hurt, or taken. But I didn't want to get Father since he would make everything five times its size. And then you were gone for so long: and every other minute, I kept saying to myself that the next second I was going to get Father- or the next minute- or next half hour. But I couldn't force myself because I was scared the second I walked out of your room you were going to come back, and you were going to pretend like it hadn't happened at all. And all the other, 'every other minutes' I was swearing to myself that I was going to go wake up Tom and go get you. God, Madeleine-" Luke suddenly realized he had Madeleine with both hands by her shoulders. "God, Madeleine, I was so scared. I though- I thought that I was going to lose you."

His voice cracked.

"Don't ever do that again, Madeleine. _Please._ Not without telling somebody, or going with somebody. Please. Promise me."

Madeleine nodded once, then twice, as if nodding harder would convince him.

Luke forced a smile at her. "I lost some- someone once, Madeleine, to disobedience. I..." The words had stopped dead, as if someone had put a dam before his tongue. "I knew... what he was doing. And I could have stopped him; I might have saved him, but- but I didn't. And it... killed... him." Luke brushed Madeleine's cheek gently with the back of his hand. "I couldn't ever live if that happened to you.

"Don't ever do that again, Madeleine." Luke could hear the begging in his own tone. "I don't ever want to have to go through that again- please."

Madeleine sniffed, then flung her arms around him so tight it cut off his breath. Luke smiled slightly as something wet slid down his cheek. _Seventeen-year-olds don't cry, stupid!_ He fiercely brushed the tear away. Tears continued to be rebellious though: another slid down his other cheek.

"Who was he?" Madeleine sniffed again. "A friend?"

"A friend," Luke echoed in a whisper. "Someone I loved- who I... lost."

Madeleine adjusted her grip on him, "Luke, when- when we're older- can we still do this: you and I? I mean, sit here, and just talk?"

"Of course," Gently prying her off of him, Luke set Madeleine on his left side, right up against him.

"Really?" She was worried now, afraid that her leader would leave. "Truly? Even... if I live in Germany and you live in England?"

Luke wrapped his arm around her. "Truly, Mads. I'll sit right here and hold you, and then you can tell me everything."

"Everything?"

"_Everything_, for sure. And if you live way over there in Germany, then we can meet in the middle. Holland, or something like that."

Madeleine snuggled up against him and Luke smiled again. "I love you," She finally whispered. "I don't think I'm ever going to love anybody else- ever."

"I'll always be here for you, Maddie," Standing up, Luke pulled back the quilt and tucked his sister in. "Don't worry."

"I won't," -a yawn big enough to swallow the Rock of Gibraltar- "Luke?"

"What?" Luke's hand paused on the doorknob.

"Do you think- maybe if you and I went out together one night- it really is beautiful- and you and I..." -another yawn, bigger than the first- "...so it- it wouldn't be disobeying. Do you think something...?"

"Maybe," Luke whispered. "Go to sleep, Maddie."

She was sleeping before he closed the door.

* * *

M: _Dang. He was _that big?

L: _You're beanspilling, if I've got it right._

M: _Shoot. True. But I didn't state anything._

L: _When people read this, there's already going to know something's up by the mysteriousness in your words. Nice try._

M: _Eh. Whatever. It's not like they know who- HE is._

L: _Wow. You amaze me. Like- literally. Keep writing._

* * *

"Luke, that is you, isn't it?" Olivia. Luke could make her out in the dark light- just barely. A pity. He hadn't even made it halfway across the hallway. She must have been waiting for him.

"It's me."

Olivia seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Did you talk to Madeleine?"

"Yes."

"What did she say? Did you get anything out of her?"

Luke sighed softly in the dark. "She said she wouldn't do it again- if you want to call her way of saying that, that."

"Anything else?"

"No, not really."

Luke could almost hear Olivia's silent worrying in the dark. "She says she isn't a child," -a pause- "But she is, Luke, frightfully so. I worry for her sometimes. When you leave-" _That again?_ "I worry about what's going to happen to her. You know how she is. I almost wish you're not leaving, just because of her. She's going to be heartbroken when you're gone."

Swallowing hard, Luke nodded. "I know. I almost wish I was taking her with me, but you know, I couldn't possibly do that."

Olivia chuckled softly. "She would love it, I'm sure, but the officials wouldn't. You know, if-" But she cut off her words and didn't finish.

Luke knew what she'd been about to say though. _If Lucas had been alive-_ Every nerve in his body screamed with self-inflicted pain. Luke sucked in his breath, and closed his eyes, hoping in the dark that Olivia wouldn't notice. "I know."

Silence across from him. Olivia laid a hand on his arm. "You have a life ahead of you, Luke. You can't live waiting for him to catch up. You'll never get anywhere looking over your shoulder, and I know you- just like I know Madeleine, and every one of my children. You can do things, Luke. Don't hold back because of the past."

"He _died_ from what Madeleine just did," Luke snapped. The pain was forcing outwards now: he pushed it in. "If he hadn't disobeyed-"

"He died from the plague," Olivia cooly reminded him. "It's _not_ your fault, Luke."

It hurt too much. Spinning around on his heel, Luke made for his bedroom door.

He barely caught himself from slamming it.

* * *

M: _HAHAHAHAHA! YOU CRIED!_

L: _WHA-? NO! I did not! What on EARTH give you THAT idea?  
_  
M: _The fact that you wrote every word of that last section. _Duh.

L: _Okay. Fine. Got me there. But on a more serious factor- why would I _cry_?_

M: _I donno. I was watching Toy Story 3 too... That- probably has something to do with it._

L: _That's a stupid movie._

M: _NOT!_

L: _Oh, please. Janus came up with it. Janus, with a _EKAT_ DIRECTOR._

M: _I am NOT talking to you for that._

L: _What?_

M: _Silence._

L: _Silence? Wait... what are you doing?_

M: _Not- Silence._

L: _Oh... great. I guess if you're deciding to be a selective mute, then you can't come to Jane's and hang out with all of us since the hockey game's over. (Grrrr...) We were going to watch a couple horror flicks. You know, the Tomas garbage... Oh well. I'll miss you._

M: _WHAT? Like _JAWS? _I is not mute any longer._

L: _No, of course not like- 'Jaws'. That's by Steven. Jane and I conspired together and came up with Birds and stuff like that. I think there was something called; 'Let Me In'... Or yeah. Like that._

M: _I... saw- that... one. Don't- yeah, Luke... don't- don't watch it._

L: _Why not?_

M: *cough* _I... shouldn't tell. Really._

L: _I'm curious now._

M: _Don't be._

L: _Okay. Well I told Jane we'd be there by six. She was coming up with some lasagna thing too. I don't really know... So shall we complete this and go?_

M: _It's completed anyway. We're done. But _no_ watching that last movie._ Ugh. *shudders*

* * *

**Question; What do you get out of this chapter, and why?**

***inserted at a later date* - If you didn't notice, I changed the italic parts too because I was so annoyed at Madeleine for being a rambling- yammer on. For all you M/E fans, yes, that is Edward, and he makes an early appearance in the re-writes. XP**

**Poor Madeleine, too, because I know MY ribs would have been cracking if somebody stuck a bodice on me and started pulling on the drawstrings. =P**

**I don't own Jaws, Birds, or 'Let Me In', if that is the title to that movie. I've actually never watched it, so I couldn't say whether it was good or not, but just the title - *shudders* sounds rather creepy to me. I would watch that one before Paranormal Activity though... *shudders twice***


	5. The Last Dinner

**Um... Okay. I just remembered I have absolutely nothing with the 39 Clues. (I wish I did) All this belongs to Rick and Scholastics who really need to spill the whole thing and write a book about the founders. PM ME IF YOU AGREE WITH THIS! Well, I think that's all.**

***inserted at later date* - Technically, that book about the founders is Vespers Rising. And of course, it was TOTAL AWESOMENESS! So I can't complain anymore. I WISH they would write more, but I don't think that's going to happen, unfortunately...**

* * *

M: _Ah. There you are, Tom._

T: _Seriously, Mads, do we _have_ to do this? Why can't we do it later?_

M: _It was from Luke, from Edward, and now from you? No. We can't write it 'la-_ter_'. And what are you complaining about?_

T: _The FOOTBALL GAME!_

M: _Oh. I guess I should have known that... You can hear the screaming all the way out in the living room. Duh..._

T: _So why are you calling me to do this at halftime...?_

M: _Because you'd kill me if I called you during the third period, and because Luke can't remember what you said in this part, so I need to recruit you._

T: _Ah... Well, let's get this over with. No inserts?_

M: _If you want. Okay. No inserts._

T: _No talking?_

M: _Uh... Okay. No talking._

T: _No writing?_

M: _Hey, what? No, you HAVE to write! Oh,- for ... THOMAS, GET BACK HERE!_

T: _Why?_

M: _Because you HAVE to write. Now get on with it!_

* * *

_One Week Later;_

**Chapter Four;**

**Separation**

Madeleine laid her head on her quilt and looked straight into Dani's now-open eyes.

They fascinated her. They were a fiery golden-green; almost a dirty yellow, but much, much brighter. Little flecks of black spun around and around every time he moved. It was like watching a kaleidoscope that always changed, constantly. The wolf pup blinked, making Madeleine blink as well, then their staring contest continued.

The little wolf pup was cute - adorably so. Madeleine would set him free sometimes in the woods and watch him struggle around on his wobbly legs, exploring the world, but she firmly asserted that she was in command though, for all his freedom. Thomas had rooted that in with vigorous repetitive speeches. _She_ was the alpha.

Unable to resist, Madeleine snuck a quick peck-kiss on Dani's forehead before she scrambled to her feet to grab the container of warm milk and the feeding straw and put them on her night-stand. With a grin, she walked out into the hallway and headed towards the kitchen.

_Whap._

Madeleine found herself rolling on the floor, her feet looped over a length of string. She propped herself up with her hands, laughing so hard she was in danger of falling again.

Luke opened his door, laughing, and extending a hand to her. "You alright?"

"I'm fine,"

"If you're going to ask if she's alright, what's the point of tripping her?" Two heads turned to see Thomas leaning casually against the wall near his door.

Luke's smile was cut short and his eyes narrowed cynically. "If she's laughing, why do you bother?"

"Because when you push someone down, it isn't really customary to help them up," Smirking, Thomas took a step over to where Madeleine was still on the floor and offered his hand toward her.

"I'm fine," Madeleine whispered. She pushed the hand away and stood up, bushing herself off. "Really."

Luke shot a look at Thomas.

"Then if you're so stuck-up," Thomas snarled back, "Why don't you stop with that stupid _string_?" Placing his foot on the string, Thomas stretched it so the nail popped out of the woodwork.

"And why don't you stop with your stupid _climbing obsession_?"

Madeleine took a step back as Luke stepped forward, moving himself halfway between Thomas and her.

Thomas punched him.

Madeleine pressed against the wall while Luke tried to regain all the air that was knocked out of his lungs. His eyes were blazing now- burning with the same fire as when Katherine had insulted him. Madeleine watched with horror as Luke's left fist shot towards Thomas' nose and was promptly stopped.

A arm-wrestling competition in mid-air ensued. Madeleine bit her lip, watching as Thomas' face grew more confident every second. Luke would never hold out against brute strength; he used his head, not his body. The younger brother grew more confident every passing second, his eyes laughing at the feeble attempt to sway him.

Madeleine tried to swallow and nearly choked. If Luke was upset off his oldest-son hierarchy, then everything _really_ would be messed up.

Suddenly Luke's right hand shot out and clamped tightly around Thomas' throat. His thumb pressed against his victim's windpipe, cutting off all accessible breath. Gasping, Thomas jerked away, and took a few steps back, just to be safe. Luke briefly smirked, but his eyes continued their laughter for a longer period of time. "So do you still think I'm stuck-up?"

Thomas' eyes spit fire. Lunging forward with a roar, he swung an incredible right hook that would have broken the door of a barn. Luke ducked in time.

"_Luke! Thomas!_"

The fighting pair whirled around, Madeleine included as well. Gideon was standing in the hallway outside his lab. His face was fiercely stern, and he met both of his sons' eyes as he walked down the hallway to meet them. "I _will not_ have this unruly, _undisciplined_ character in our home; it is disrespectful and unrefined. If you want to fight, do it outside, but not inside. Not _here_."

Madeleine glanced at Luke out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at the ground, thoughtful; definitely not subdued. "I will expect better attitude from both of you in the future." Gideon looked his oldest son in the eye. "I would have thought, Luke, that you would regard the rules in this home, better. Both of you will talk to me after supper. Do you have anything to say for yourselves that will try and excuse your inappropriate behavior?"

"He started it," Thomas muttered under his breath.

Gideon turned quickly to him. "Who started, or who instigated it is no matter. It takes two stones to make a spark. If Luke started it, then I will hold you responsible for pressing the matter, and not negotiating a pact. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Father."

"Luke?"

"Yes, Father."

"Good. I will see you both after supper when we can discuss this matter further. I will expect good conduct from you until then. Is that also clear?"

"Yes, Father."

Luke nodded.

Giving his older brother a dirty look, Thomas turned around and stalked into his room. Gideon sighed softly, then turned to Luke, no longer frowning, but thoughtful - weighing sides. He looked his son in the eye, and Luke stared back, unafraid. "I know what your answer will be," Gideon breathed. "That Thomas lied, and that he started it. That is man's nature. But you _are_ the oldest," Gideon's eyes examined Luke intensely. "No argument can sway that. Even if Thomas started it, or you. You are old enough to negociate peace; do it."

Luke nodded again, but it was smaller this time - only a bob of the head. "Just remember, Father, that whoever started it, will not have any thoughts of stopping it on his mind," Luke turned around and held his hand out to Madeleine. "Mother's almost done with supper. Come, Maddie."

Madeleine bit her lip and took Luke's hand. He winked at her, the beginnings of a smile showing in the corners of his mouth. Madeleine's heart pounded. "Are you crazy?" She hissed once they were out of Gideon's hearing range. "Tom could have-"

"Killed me?" Luke snorted. "He wouldn't ever dare. It's like bartering, Maddie. I know what point Tom will go to. It was just a matter of getting Tom loud enough to alert Father."

"But he could have_ hurt _you," Madeleine tugged desperately on her brother's arm and pulled him to a stop just before the kitchen. "He's mad now, Luke. You got him into trouble for no reason, and he's going to want to get back at you for it."

Luke just dabbed his finger gently on the edge of Madeleine's nose, teasing her. "I can take care of myself, Maddie. It's _you_ I'm worried about."

"All he wanted was to help me up."

"No," Luke held a finger to her lips, silencing her other comment. "He wanted to get back at me for a couple reasons. When you're older, you'll understand."

"But I understand _now_," Madeleine bit her lip and mentally pleaded with Luke to comprehend what she was pointing at. "_I_ know you're teasing when you do things, but they _don't_. Can't you stop? Even if it's just 'because'?"

"Then I ought to continue_ until_ they understand," Luke sent Madeleine a quick glance that meant he knew he had gotten the point across, and she was suppose to be silent. "I can take care of myself, Maddie. Father's only going to give us a talk, and I know who started it."

"You did," Madeleine blurted out. Luke raised an eyebrow, momentarily taken by surprise. "You started it by tripping me. I didn't care, but Tom decided to insert himself in the middle, and _that_ caused the fire."

Luke frowned, confused obviously, but not willing to state that fact. "I still didn't."

"You set the spark on the wood, Tom bellowed it into a fire." Luke crossed his arms in the almost-laughing manner that he had when Madeleine was pushing a subject farther than he would have liked. Madeleine crossed her own arms and stared purposefully at him. She knew his expression usually meant that he wasn't listening to her anymore, and _that_ wouldn't do.

"So what is your opinion, Madeleine?"

"Stop the tripping line," The girl breathed instantly.

Luke surveyed the dainty, pale face in front of him for a moment, then he glanced around the wall at the kitchen. "We have a few minutes." Taking Madeleine's hand, he led her back down the hallway and into his room. He sat on his bed, making Madeleine's face and his own level. Madeleine could see the hesitation in his eyes. "I told Father and Mother not to tell you this," Luke finally whispered. "I wanted to tell you myself, later. I didn't plan on now, but- maybe you'll understand what I mean more when I tell you."

"Tell me what?" Madeleine reached out and curled her thin, little hands into Luke large, rough ones.

"I'm... I'm leaving soon, Maddie," Madeleine swallowed. She wasn't hearing him right, _obviously_. "The King's admission tests are going to be soon- in a few years. I'm the oldest here, Maddie. They _have_ to listen to me now. But when I'm gone, there- there isn't going to be anyone here to protect you. I need to make sure you're safe, and keep it that way while I still can."

Madeleine swallowed again, trying to make sure she'd understood what he'd said. "You're... _leaving_?"

Luke nodded and squeezed her hands gently. It was a comforting gesture that offered the younger sibling no comfort. "I can't stay here forever, Maddie. It's still a few years away, though. It's not like I'm leaving tomorrow."

Madeleine paused, thinking. "Can I go with you?"

"No," Luke smiled, his eyes twinkling. He had known she'd ask that question. Then the sparkle faded. "No, Mads. Not then. Maybe you can visit, or when I get leave to come here- but not then."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Madeleine searched her older brother's face. He wanted to go, but he didn't want to leave her. "Because you can't, Madeleine; you've got to stay here and grow up. It's- It's complicated, Maddie. Maybe I shouldn't do the tripping line. Maybe I did start that fight with Tom; but it doesn't matter, because if he doesn't respect you, he doesn't respect _me_. I want to make sure you're not, 'just' a twelve-year-old while I still can. Do you understand?"

Madeleine shrugged and looked away.

Luke was silent for a while. Madeleine could feel him looking at her and judging what to say, but too upset to calmly say anything. Finally the silence was broken as he sighed. "I love you, Madeleine," There was a soft kiss on her forehead. "Come to dinner."

He didn't try to make her follow him.

Luke's footsteps hurt her ears as they resounded vividly in the room. Then the door shut, and he was gone. _Gone_. Madeleine's breath choked, and she wished she could run up to her brother and hug him tightly ; she wished she could beg him- _plead_ to him not to go. So what about the King's admissions? Wasn't she more important to him than that? Didn't he _love_ her? But he was her brother, Madeleine reminded herself. He might love her, but he had no ties to her. He didn't deserve to have her to tote around everywhere he went.

Biting her lip, Madeleine looked up and around the room. Luke's many books were piled next to his desk, which was by his window. There was his chest, filled with numerous things that even he had never explained to her. The neatly placed boots in the corner by his desk- all the things that made Luke's room, _his_ room: gone? How _could_ that happen?

Madeleine closed her eyes tightly and tried to imagine it. She couldn't. Katherine could be gone- easy. Madeleine would be a few ingenious inventions short of happy, but that was alright. Tom would be missed, but that was understandable. And Jane as well; missing music, but not that much. But _Luke_?

Madeleine couldn't stand it anymore. She whirled around and hurried out the door and into the hallway.

Jane was dressed in her usual green dress, with a white-ish, too-large, food-spotted apron covering her front. She was placing a steaming bowl of something on the table, just as she looked into the hallway and spotted Madeleine. "Oh, good. You're here too. Dinner's ready."

Madeleine nodded and obligingly walked over to the table, sitting down in her usual spot. The others gathered eventually into the room and sat also, in their usual places. From across the table, Madeleine could see Luke's brown eyes peering at her from his seat. They were worried, and rather concerned. Suddenly Luke put his elbow on the table - an unforgivable rule with Olivia - and put on a self-assured expression, as if he was the most amazing person in the world, and knew it. He winked at her.

Madeleine burst into giggles, nearly choking on her beans.

"And what is so funny, Madeleine?" Olivia murmured, looking at her youngest daughter.

Luke's elbow quickly slipped off the table and he stuffed his mouth with food - suddenly hungry. Madeleine's mind whirled to find an excuse. "There was a fly, Mother. It was buzzing around the fireplace, and I was thinking it looked like it was doing a square dance."

"A square dance?" Olivia smiled at Madeleine, amused.

"Perhaps it was a horsefly," Katherine suggested. "They mate this time of year."

Thomas snorted before anyone could reply. "And how would you know about that? Are you a horsefly, miss?"

Katherine turned a brilliant tomato-red. "Speak for yourself, oaf!"

"Katherine, Thomas," Olivia breathed quietly. "Not at the dinner table."

"You might die of suffocation if your food went down the wrong way," Jane added, smirking as she stood up to spoon a second helping of stew into her bowl.

"Then why didn't you cut the chunks smaller?" Thomas shot back. He waved a piece of stew meat in front of Jane's nose- dripping grease all over the table.

"_Thomas_," Olivia gasped.

"Filthy little brother," Katherine murmured, soft enough that only Thomas could hear. "Did you even wash your hands before supper?"

The entire table shook as Thomas leaped to his feet, eyes glaring. "I _DID_," he roared.

"THOMAS, KATHERINE!" Gideon stood up, forcing both his children to look him in the eye. "That is _enough_. You may both sit down, and eat your dinner. Or, if you prefer, you may go to your separate rooms and stay there through desert."

"His hands_ are_ dirty, Father." Katherine shot a look of pure disdain at Thomas' clenched-up fists.

"And your dress is clean?" Thomas shot back.

Katherine turned red. "It's stained. Stained but _washed_."

"Ah, so-"

"Wait, please!" Madeleine noticed Jane again. The older girl was scribbling out a staff and notes on an already scribbled-on handkerchief using the brown broth from her stew. Everyone stared at her in surprise. "Alright, got it. Thanks."

Thomas whirled on Katherine. "So what gives you the right to wear _that?_"

"The same right that lets you have dirty hands!"

Thomas glared at his sister, then he took a step back, bumping into Jane's chair. The girl gave a cry of surprise as the ink in her make-shift inkwell slopped over the side and dried itself on her just-drawn notes. "Oaf!" She screamed. Jane shoved her brother forward- away from her seating.

Thomas stumbled forward into Katherine, who fell back into her chair with a cry of surprise. The older sister turned her rage to Jane- a more effective vent that Thomas. "You're not a little sister, you're a music-geek!"

Jane's head was bowed slightly, in respect for Katherine's age, but her green eyes glittered maliciously at her older sister. Nobody insulted her music and got away with it. "And you're a lab-nerd!"

Katherine's face turned red to the roots of her hair. Madeleine could clearly see the volcano that was about to blow. Then Luke stood up. "_Katherine_," he hissed warningly.

Katherine turned to him and met his eyes, undeterred. "Yes, friend-of-younger-sister? Did you say something?"

Face impassive, Luke slipped his hands under the table and hefted it up a good two inches. Not quickly enough to spill Thomas' bowl, as the boy's rapid reflexes caught it on the edge, but Katherine gave a small shriek as her stew spilled all down her front and into her lap. Luke let the table drop back down.

Everything was chaos after that.

* * *

Olivia had always said that nobody could leave the table until everyone was done. Madeleine couldn't remember when she hadn't listened to that rule, and hadn't obeyed it. But this- this wasn't supper, this was... She didn't know what it was. The four of them just sat there, screaming at each other. And both Gideon and Olivia were powerless to stop it.

But why? Why couldn't they just fix things up? It was the plain, simple answer. Looking at her Father's face, Madeleine could see the reply, though. Gideon's face was hard and worn with enough toil to last a lifetime. And while Olivia talked, she didn't have either the power, or the authority to stop them. Her words flowed over the argument like wind or water.

Nobody noticed as Madeleine slid her chair back and took her empty bowl to the washbasin. Nobody noticed either as Madeleine walked silently back to her room and gently shut the door.

The girl feel asleep to arguing that night, and it felt like a taste of what would happen once Luke was gone.

* * *

T: FOOTBALL GAME HERE I COME! GO CARDINALS! DIE PACKERS!

M: Wow. So much for, like- actually writing. That was the fastest chapter I've seen so far. Hm... I have to schedule writing while the football games are playing more often...

* * *

**Question; How much better is this chapter on a scale of 1-10?**


	6. Identity Lost, or Identity Change

E: _Maddie._

M: _Ed._

E: _Yes. If you need to hear me saying that. Now what?_

M: _We wait for Luke. Isn't that obvious?_

E: _Oh. So THIS is the chapter- Bye._

M: _WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. And just _WHERE_ do you think you're going?_

E: _I'm going to finish up my football game, and then I'm going to figure out a way to ruin Luke's life._

M: _Humph. You do that and I'm going to ruin_ your _life._

E: _Ruin my life? That seems a bit... mm... on the evil side for you, Mads._

L: _It would be quite easy for her. Trust me - I'm her brother._

E: _I'm tempted to pull that cord. You know, the one that you stepped in and it's wrapped around your foot?_

M: _Ah... But you aren't going to, are you?_

E: _Hm... Give me twenty seconds to think on it._

L: _I can... leave, Mads. If it's that big of a problem._

M: _No, don't leave. Ignore him. Start writing, Luke. We're first anyway._

* * *

_Three Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Five;**

**...Identity Lost or Identity Change...**

It was a cold war, Madeleine mused. Not a fought war, not an active war. It was a silent anger that crept through the house and froze all that was red. Katherine and Luke hadn't exchanged a word since that last encounter at the dinner table, and neither had Thomas or Jane. Any other replies were curt and short. And of course, it was herself that got the brunt of the ice.

Even Luke was caught into the frozen motion that had enveloped the house. Gideon had locked himself in the lab, working too hard to even notice anything. Olivia was stuck, like Madeleine, on the outside, but trapped in a cube of ice that had enveloped her. Why was it so hard to escape? Why couldn't Luke break free- if only with her? Or Katherine, or Thomas, or Jane. She was so- _alone_.

She had thought she'd known what isolation was: those cold, metal bars that leered out at her from behind her siblings' eyes. It had always been a simple matter to worm her way back into their hearts, so she hadn't worried about it. But this was different. They weren't angry at her because she'd been with another sibling for too long, they were angry at _each other_.

Luke hadn't talked to her either. If he happened to pass her in the hallway, there could be a pat on the shoulder, or perhaps a squeeze of her hand. But more often than not, there was nothing; just a stiff, completely vacant seventeen-year-old who was trapped in stony silence.

Madeleine had often wished that she would have more time alone, but now she took it all back. There wasn't even supper anymore. Olivia still cooked, but nobody sat down at the table. It was a- Your Meal, Your Times, proposition, and Madeleine hated it. She barely even saw anyone anymore. Yet the worst part was that everybody hated her as well- like she was suppose to stick up for all of them, and hate them all at the same time.

If only Gideon could fix everything!

But if that wasn't enough, Gideon was sick as well. Thomas had gone hiking...

_Poor Edward,_ Madeleine couldn't help thinking. Four fields to turn over and he didn't have one person to help him. It was a bitter situation, but nothing could be helped. Of course, Gideon just had to restrict her with his stupid rules. If Luke would even consent to take her outside, he would _never_ allow her to help Edward. Even Edward himself might turn her in if she went outside. He wasn't especially _afraid_ of Gideon, but he respected him, and he obviously didn't want his hide tanned.

So what to do?

Madeleine grinned impishly, running through her master plan one more time. Her devious smile grew slightly wider as she opened up a drawer to her desk and held up a sharp knife she'd snitched from the kitchen.

_Phase One._

* * *

E: _Committing suicide? That seems like an _excellent_ plan one, Madeleine._

M: _Oh, shut up. It WAS a good plan one. Mother spoiled it._

L: _Spoiled it?_ Please... _It was a_ HORRIBLE _plan one, Madeleine; and you know it._

M: _Wasn't._

L: _Was._

M: _Wasn't!_

L: _Was. Like-_ duh.

M: WASN'T!

E: _Was. Now write, Maddie, before we get into another argument._

* * *

Phase One had failed. Hair cutting was a wonderful idea, but low on the long-term approval. Olivia would die of fright if she ever saw one of her girls with their hair lower than their shoulders. So coincidentally, Dramatic Madeleine was stuck wishing that someone would be there to watch her brilliant performance of sneaking through the hall till she got to Thomas' room. Once inside, Madeleine let out a sigh of relief and took off the shawl she was trying to use to cover Thomas' old tunic.

Tom was a avid collector. There was no way he could _not_ have a stick in his room.

* * *

_Shoot!_ Madeleine dug her hand through the pile of filthy clothes, one of the last places she'd looked. _It's not here either!_ It shouldn't be too hard to find a stick, especially if you had a forest right in your backyard. Straightening up, she pulled open the top drawer of Thomas' desk. _Pine cone, drained bird egg, Robin's nest, weird suspicious looking black rock, tree root, caterpillar's cocoon... _The list of things in Thomas' drawers went on and on. _Moldy red sock? What's that doing in here?_ Madeleine sniffed at the sock in disgust and tossed it into Thomas' dirty clothes pile. _Bit of gross looking old amber, piece of glass, spear head-_

* * *

L: _Ah... yes. The moldy red_ _sock._

E: _There's one in every family, sire._ Two _in mine, actually._

L: _I think I'm stuck with about... hm... Five? Nah... maybe six._

E: _Counting yourself?_

L: _Well, I was more on the line of counting you..._

M: _Come on, guys. It's not that bad._

* * *

"Hello, Maddie, looking for something?"

Madeleine blinked. She was shot. This mission would _never_ get off the ground now with Luke on her tail. "Yes, actually," She managed to murmur.

"Going to do something?" Luke was amused. Of course; there was no way he'd miss the baggy tunic and breeches.

Madeleine bit her lip and turned around, facing her brother. "Yes, actually."

Luke raised an eyebrow in mild confusion.

Madeleine mentally congratulated herself. This was the longest conversation she'd had with anyone in three weeks. "Yes, actually, I needed a stick, and I figured Tom would have one in his room... _somewhere_."

"Somewhere?" Luke smirked wryly, and Madeleine followed his eyes till she was looking over her own shoulder at the trashed room. "Did you find one?"

Madeleine winced, "Well, not really- no. But I need to go."

"Go where?"

"I'm going nowhere special..." Madeleine slid her foot cautiously to the right, then bolted past Luke and lunged for her own room. _Yank_. _Fail_.

Madeleine winced again, feeling Luke's hand tighten around her arm. "Maddie, you aren't trying to run away, are you?"

Madeleine quickly shook her head. It wouldn't hurt to tell him that, but she still squirmed slightly in his grasp, trying to get free. Her plan was failing by the second.

"Well then, where are you going all dressed up in... Tom's old clothes."

Not answering, Madeleine winced.

"Tom isn't back though. And there's nothing outside except the fields. And you know Father won't allow you outside anyway-" His grip tightened on her arm. "That's it, isn't it. You're running off to the fields to do who-knows-what."

Madeleine cursed herself. Luke was going to tell, and then she was_ never _going to get out of this place! "You- you aren't going to tell, are you?" Her voice came out a squeak. "Please? It's just for today..." Trailing off, Madeleine didn't finished her sentence. _Unless I like it. Which I will. _Luke's mouth curled up slightly, and his sister took that as a good sign. "Please? The forest won't get burned down. _Promise_."

Luke finally rolled his eyes, letting go of her arm. "Alright. I won't tell anyone, but it's only for today."

* * *

And she was _free_.

Elated, Madeleine found herself happier than when she'd snuck out at night. Her door had been locked from the inside, and with the people locked in ice not planning on melting anytime soon, there wasn't that big of a chance she'd be caught. Picking a blackberry, Madeleine resisted the temptation do sit right down in the brambles and eat the entire patch. She had a mission. Edward wasn't going to get any help with her sitting there.

Coming to the edge of the first field, Madeleine stopped. She could see Edward on the other side of the half-plowed field, doing something with Carrie grazing behind him. Madeleine decided to not walk through the field and give away her arrival - but around it. A stealth approach. _Very_ dramatic.

* * *

E: _Very. Dramatic._

L: _Wow._

M: _Be serious, people. Will you? Oh. I forgot. I'm surrounded by _idiots.

E: _Does. That. Include. Yourself. Scar?_

L: _Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha._

M: _Edward, Luke. STOP. I am not kidding._

E: _Nope. Sorry. I. Think. We're. Having. Fun. Being. Very. Dramatic._

L: _Yup._

M: _Oh for crying out- I was TEASING! I was just ACTING dramatic!_

* * *

_She_ might have been dramatic, but Edward wasn't, obviously.

Madeleine watched him carefully from her spot behind an oak tree. In the dark, somehow Edward had been... mysterious; his glittering blue eyes had always been countered by the shadows on his face. But now in the daylight, there really wasn't much to see. Madeleine blinked. That wasn't the way to put it. Edward was, quite truthfully- _dull_.

Sure, he had blue eyes and that alien golden hair, but other than a few freckles, there wasn't much to look at. His nose went straight down - the average length - with a slight upturn at the end. Nothing near to being pig-like, Madeleine thought with remorse. His forehead wasn't large or over-jutting, just level like her own, and rounded a bit. His eyebrows were like his hair, and even though he was slightly tanned, his skin was still frighteningly pale.

Madeleine wondered if she _really_ ought to help him.

Suddenly Edward sprang lightly to his feet. Madeleine scrambled back, wondering if she'd been found out. But Edward only grabbed a tin pail from around the corner of the tree he was sitting under, and opened it up. Great. Another disappointing feature.

Edward was a normal height too. Not a whopping taller-than-Gideon or a so-short-can't-saddle-horse. That was even _boring-er_. No bow-legs, no pigeon-toes. He was a bit like Thomas, but slimmed down, shorter, the different features and- so, perhaps, he wasn't like Tom.

* * *

E: _Oh,_ THANKS. _What did you want me to look like? Crossed eyed and pigeoned toed?_

M: _No, I just thought you ought to look at little more..._

L: _... ugly?_

M: _No... I just thought you would look a little more... hm..._

L: _... surly?_

M: NO! _And don't you dare butt in on me again! I thought you would look..._

L: _... disgusting?_

M: _I thought I told you to zip it! I thought you would look..._

L: ... Malevolent. _That's it. Malevolent._

M: _INTERESTING! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD LOOK_ INTERESTING_!_

E: _I'm not interesting enough for you?_

M: _Seriously... I was TWELVE! Give it a break!_

L: _Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the 'I'm was only twelve' line. Yadda, yadda, yadda. We hear it every day._

E: _Hm..._

L: _You know, it's rather boring._

M: _Start writing. Really- before I punch BOTH your noses in._

L: _Ouch. Well, I don't know, Ed. Don't you think it would look nicer? More _manly_ perhaps?_

E: _Start writing, because Maddie's glaring at me, and I think she means it._

* * *

Madeleine groaned. Stepping out from behind the tree, she ran over her mental checklist.

_False Name?_

_Jake Cobbler. Check._

_Non-socialization?_

_Check._

_Nervousness?_

_Check - total check._

And then the blue eyes riveted on her, and all brain activity stopped dead.

Edward grinned then; that same goofy, relaxed grin that had frightened Madeleine so much before. Now it felt like a bucket of water was dumped on her, and it broke the ice. She quickly poured out her rehearsed lines. "I'm Jacob Cobbler, the new hand here. Gideon, he assigned me to this field. You?"

Edward gestured to the empty ground under the oak beside him. "All yours. I'm Edward. You can call me the 'Ed', the 'Ward', or the 'Dwar'. Any of them works." Madeleine self-consciously sat on the ground, wondering if a boy brushed off the seat of his pants when he stood up. "I do need the help, though. You came in the nick of time. All this-" Edward gestured at the fields. "I've got to do. The one son- Thomas, he's 'suppose' to help me with the plowing, but he decided to go and run off, and Gideon's sick. So I'm left."

"Give me a rundown on the place," Madeleine urged. She silently prayed that Edward could be kept talking long enough. Perhaps she would be able to gain all the information she needed to know without him noticing.

Edward got to his feet, finished with his lunch in the few moments he'd been eating. Following him, Madeleine waited at the top of a bank while Edward led Carrie up from beneath. "Now this here's Carrie. She's a good horse, you just have to get to know her. Don't stick your hand too close to her mouth-" Edward gave an example, then jerked his hand away before Carrie's teeth could snap on it. "Or you'll be nursing it for days. Do you know how to harness up?"

They were already passing the oak and heading for the first field. Madeleine felt strangely unknowledgeable as she answered his question. "No, not really."

"I'll show you." For being boring, Edward could be just as fast as his tongue when he felt like it. He swept the reins and harness off the tree branch they were hanging on with the speed and exemption of a person who'd been doing it for half his life. "See? You just loop those around and check those there..."

Madeleine had to nearly squeeze in between Edward and Carrie so she'd be able to see the blur of hands that were tightening straps too numerous to count.

"Now, did you just come here?"

Madeleine blinked, realizing the question was directed to her. "No– yes- yes. Only a few weeks ago. I'm... an orphan. I needed work, and the Cahills offered it."

"Hm..." Edward stopped Carrie suddenly and lifted up her front left hoof. "That's funny. I am too."

Great. Failure. He was already suspicious. "What do you know about the Cahills, anyway? The people in the town talked about him like he was a..." Madeleine personally swore that she would fatally maim any person who even _considered_ her father in that light. "...Lunatic."

Edward laughed, straightening up and reaching for Carrie's left hind foot. Checking for rocks, Madeleine figured after a bit of scrutiny. "He's not a lunatic. I'll tell you that much. Perhaps... preoccupied. They say he's trying to make a cure for the plague, though." Edward gave a wry smile. "If he does that, then we can all praise God he was sent. They say it's making its way down though Germany again." Edward shook his head and walked around to the right hind side.

Madeleine felt like she needed to say something, so she said the only word that popped into her head. "Interesting..."

"Now the children..." Edward suddenly laughed. His head appeared nearly detached from his body, as Carrie's back split him off from the neck down. Madeleine wondered what he was laughing about. "I'm only fourteen, so I don't know if I ought to be talking about them or not. But you won't rat me out, will you?" He knelt down to clean Carrie's right fore hoof.

"Course not."

"Then in that case... Luke's the oldest. He's... about half a head taller than me. You're probably a full one shorter than him. Now Katie-"

"Katherine," Madeleine corrected automatically. It had almost been a rule in the Cahill home. Katherine was Katherine. Katie was a rarely used nickname, and Kate was an insult.

Edward raised an eyebrow as he straightened up from the final hoof. "I thought you didn't know about the Cahills."

Madeleine could feel her blood pounding to the surface. "I... heard the name in town. I just though-"

Preoccupied, Edward had already turned away to checking Carrie's legs for any scratches. "Well, Katherine brings out the lunch. You'll see her soon enough if she isn't late like last time."

Madeleine remembered that. The argument to stop Katherine's work for five minutes and take out the lunch had lasted for _hours_. Wincing, Madeleine surreptitiously hoped that that wouldn't happen again, and she wouldn't have to wait for her stomach to be eating her from the inside out till lunch came. She also made Edward a silent, solemn oath that if Katherine didn't take out lunch quickly, she would do it herself so he wouldn't have to wait.

"She's... mm... about my height, and she's brilliant, apparently; comes up with something out of nothing, or that's what they say. Tom helps me with the fields, like I said. You'll meet him soon if he comes back. Jane's an artist-in-training, everyone says. She-"

Madeleine muted his voice for a quick moment to silently comment that Jane _was_ an artist. An artist-_in-training_? Jane would double his nose in.

"... so that's Jane. And then there's Madeleine - the youngest."

Madeleine mentally steeled herself for some smarting comment about her long tongue and obtrusive manners.

"Madeleine... she's..." Madeleine glanced at Edward over Carrie's back. He wasn't focusing on Carrie any more he was... Madeleine quickly looked away before he would turn around and see her blushing. "She's... different. Not a- _mean _different-" Edward paused. "She acts tough on the outside, but that's all that it is. An act. I think..." Carrie began to walk forward as Edward led her on. "... I think she's one of the nicest girls I've ever met, honestly."

Madeleine knew that a boy was technically suppose to tease the other boy about being in love, but with her- that just seemed... _wrong_. Who _wanted_ to be in love with her anyway?_ Ugh_. Madeleine's innards twisted. "Wha- what do you... _like_ about her?"

Edward shrugged. "She's a firm breaker of rules, I'll tell you that much."

Madeleine stopped herself from giggling at the fact that she was technically breaking rules by being outside at that moment. "You like her for _that?_!"

"I don't like her!"

Madeleine tightened her stomach muscles to make sure she didn't vomit. "_Do_."

"Do not!" Edward made a face at her from behind Carrie's long nose.

"Liar!" Madeleine crossed her eyes and wiggled her ears from underneath her straw hat. She hoped Edward would see that she could nearly get her pupils to disappear under her eyelids when she did that. Courtesy of having an older brother who didn't care if a face got stuck that way.

Edward laughed and crossed his own eyes.

Deciding to play a prank she herself had discovered, Madeleine held her upper eyelids and then twisted her eyeballs down. If it worked right, all you ought to see was the white of the eyeball. Jane had _fainted_ when she'd showed it to her the first time. Madeleine rather hoped she'd get such spectacular results again.*

Edward burst into laughter. "Good one!"

Disappointed, Madeleine let go of her eyelids and let her eyeballs pop back into their normal position. "I win. What else do you like about her?"

"Why on earth would I tell you?"

Madeleine shrugged. "No specific reason."

Edward groaned. "I don't like her, she's... nice 'friend' material."

"Why?"

"Oh, in the name of-" Edward shrugged helplessly. "She's nice. She's... entertaining. She makes me think about something- No..." Edward thought for a moment. "It's hard to explain. She makes me think of responsibilities as... fun- almost. She makes me... makes sure that I don't take things too seriously. She laughs." Suddenly Edward frowned. "And the fact that she's pretty has _nothing_ to do with it."

Madeleine turned a vivid red up to the roots of her hair, and she decided to focus firmly on the first field that was coming closer with every step.

* * *

L: _I... ought- ought to leave... right?_

M: _I would suggest that._

E: _Agreed._

L: _I'm gone. Okay, but just remember. It wouldn't be that great if you like- kill each other now. Right? Remember that. Bye._

E: _You put the marbles under the welcome mat, didn't you?_

M: _Yes._

E: _Good. He hasn't finished his paperwork yet._

* * *

*** - Okay, you're probably thinking this is weird, but a friend taught me this, and you can actually do it. It's AWESOMELY freaky, and DOUBLY AWESOME if you do it as a zombie on Halloween. Not that I know that from experience, of course... XD**

**Now. Here. Do it with me. Put your thumbs finger-nails down on the middle part of your eyebrows. Still with me? Now pull up. It will feel like your eyeballs are already twisting down, and your sight will be grey-ish. And then twist your eyeballs down while exerting pressure on your eyebrows and pulling up. If you can still see, you aren't doing it right. It gets AWESOME results if you try it on friends/teachers/parents etc.**

**So... I don't know why I told/taught the whole world to do that, but I thought it was cool.**

**What do you rate this chapter now, on a scale of 1-10?**


	7. Found and Betrayed

**Hi there everyone! I got a few question! Not exactly on the topic of the story, but heck, it's a start. Oh, and I haven't actually disclaimed yet. I've had it in my head ever since I've written this, and I've never done it yet. So now; I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARS EXCEPT EDWARD... AND ALL THE OTHER CHARS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE 39 CLUES! Do you like my caps?**

**Cahill-not-Cahill; How do you put in dividing lines?**

**- If you're writing on the site, there's five bottons before the divide line. Bold, Italic, Underlining, Align left, and Align center. Then there's a little botton with just a line on it. If you press it -just like you press my review botton!- then it should put a line there. Hope this helps! Oh, and thank you for being the first person to review on my story!**

**DBlover; Katharine bringing lunch, and Madeleine not having any talents.**

**- Yes. I was actually reading the Ninth book, I'M GETTING THE TENTH BOOK TODAY! -I've been lending my books out- and I thought about that. I would of changed the story, but my stories always have so many relying things on one another that I can't pull out one thing before the whole story is full of pot holes and it all comes crashing down. I don't have time to write this all over again. I have enough trouble writing what I have written. *grins* That concerns Madeleine haveing talents. Katherine/Katharine brings lunch to Edward and Thomas when they were working in the field. Sorry that got you confused...**

M: _Alright, Wade's in bed, Edward's coming, and- oh. Here he is. Ha. He doesn't even know I've got his quill pen. Let me go help him 'find' it. *leaving for five minutes*..._

E: _That's mean. Just because I showed you where my quill pen was, doesn't mean you take it. It's your fault you didn't get Jane's text when she offered it._

M: _It was a conspiracy. She made sure to text you first. How do people even write with these hunks of metal? I know I can't. Lumps, not hunks of metal. Anyway, look, my fingers won't even grasp it. I want that quill pen back. Idiots that invented these things..._

E: _Ah, pity. Here, we'll pass it back and forth again. But __no__ taking. Your turn to write now. Remember this part?_

_

* * *

__Three Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Six;**

**Found and Betrayed**

Madeleine edged another stick from her pile. Edward met it, giving her a flat, dead-pan stare. She started to grow slightly nervous. _Ed never does his stare like that unless he's got a really good hand..._ Madeleine fingered the Full House she held. _Good, but maybe..._

Edward pushed two sticks into the pile. Cool as a cucumber, he crossed his feet. "Ready."

Last chance. Madeleine stared hard at him, trying to find out if he was bluffing or not. She could fold, but the number of sticks she already had in the pot made her reject the idea. If she could just-

"Hey Al, hurry and move. Here comes Katie. Finally. I thought I was going to start melting in this heat. Man, she's in a hurry. I wonder what's up."

Madeleine's head shot up and she instantly scrambled to her feet. Katie wasn't in one of her inventing stupors that she'd been in for the past three weeks. She was running flat out, and she was heading straight for her sister-in-disguise. _Busted._

Madeleine turned around to run into the forest but the tip of her boot caught in a tree root and she fell to the ground. The straw hat tumbled off. The twelve year old snatched it back up and stuffed it on her head, turning to run again. _Just my luck. The first time Katie sees me and I didn't fasten the hat! And right in front of Edward too. Darn it!_

Then was a clattering and a slosh behind her. _Lunch, with pudding. That's Edward's favorite dish._ Then Madeleine's arm felt like it was going to be yanked out of it's socket. Katharine backed her up against a thick oak tree and ripped off the hat and the stick. Madeleine's black hair fell down to her waist. In the corner of her eye, Madeleine could see Edward, staring open-mouthed at her. All thoughts of him were pulled out of her head though when Katharine grabbed her shoulders and began shaking. One shake for every syllable.

"I. WANT. A PRE-TTY. SMART. EX-PLAN-A-TION. FOR THIS!"

Madeleine tried to regather what brains hadn't been shaken out. "W-What explanation?"

"THIS!" The hat and stick were waved in front of her nose. "What is THIS? All of us thought that you were out hiking with Tom! Six in the morning to eight at night! Go inside! Father needs to hear about this!"

_Father._ Madeleine tried to think up a decent excuse. "Ahhh-"

"Alex, what's this all about?" Edward stepped up beside Katharine, taking Madeleine in without her hair up and hidden.

"ALEX?" Katharine grabbed her sister's shoulder again and gave her another good shake. Then she turned to Edward. "You're talking to twelve year old Madeleine Cahill! A little _scamp_ in disguise!"

"Is that true?" Edward stared at Madeleine, waiting for an answer.

She shrugged, dropping the accent and deeper voice. "Depends on the way you look at it."

"Depends?" Katharine grabbed her sister's shoulders and turned her towards the house. "You're going to tell Father every escapade in this. _Period_. And you're not getting out of it."

"No," Madeleine took a step back. "No."

"What do you mean 'No'? And then I'm going to tell Mother to teach you a lesson about respecting your elders!"

Madeleine smirked wryly. "Which lesson? The one with the cake? The one with the stick? Or the one with the dog?" At the mention of 'dog' Dani started to wriggle in her pocket. "I can't remember."

"It's going to be the one with the stick, times-ed by two though. Now start walking."

Madeleine stood her ground, "No." When Katharine saw her little sister wasn't moving, she grabbed her arm and started to tow her off to the house. Madeleine fought back, twisting her own arm under Katharine's so it twisted up and Katharine had to let go. Jerking away, the twelve year old leaped up into the oak tree and pressed against it's protective branches. She knew Katharine couldn't climb trees, and even if she could, she wouldn't risk her dress to do it. Madeleine was right.

"Get down from there you little twirp!" Katharine glared up into the tree.

Edward watched the two girls. One of who was screaming, and the other his friend, or so he thought, waiting. Finally Katharine stopped, out of breath and exhausted, just realizing that she was the only one even mad. She felt silly. "Katie, you want me to come down, right?" There was a scowl. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. If you want me to come down, then don't tell Father."

"Why not?" All traces of calm were wiped off of Katherine's face. "You want me to lie for you? Who the heck to you think you are?"

Madeleine gave a little smirk, watching her older sister accidentally swear, and then blush. "I'm Madeleine Cahill, your younger sibling that you're not going to tell on."

"WHAT? I'm going to-" Katharine got a pitiful running start and in a great effort leaped six inches off the ground to try and grab onto a low branch. Madeleine didn't even try to hide her smirk and Edward smiled into his hand.

The twelve year old wrapped her arm around one of the rather thick branches and lowered herself down so she was only two feet from the flailing arms of her sister. "I don't want to go back. Please, if you don't tell, I-I'll stop when Tom comes back. You don't have to tell Father."

Katharine stepped back, pondering her sister's words. "You're positive."

Madeleine nodded, "I will. If Father isn't told."

The angry sixteen year old, crimped an eyebrow, then she tossed the hat and stick to the ground with an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Just get down." There was a heavy thump and Madeleine was standing in front of Katharine's nose. "Now look here!" Katharine grabbed Madeleine's arm and towed her deeper into the forest, out of ear-shot of Edward. "Plowing and running around in those disrespectful things is bad enough, but I don't want to see you with that stupid, no-good, straw-haired farm boy. You hear me?"

Madeleine looked at the ground and muttered something under her breath.

"I didn't hear you."

"I said that his name is Edward."

Katharine threw her hands up in the usual 'I give in' method. "See? You've been around him for three weeks and it's already rubbed off on you!"

Madeleine rolled her eyes. "You don't even know what you're saying. We didn't do anything except plow. And if you know his name, you call him by it. Would I call you a lazy, thoughtless, Cahill-girl?"

Katharine glared at her. "Fine. But if anyone questions me, I'm going to stick you on an oven door and hand you to them, roasted till brown. Good enough?"

Madeleine thought for a moment, then nodded. "I can live with that."

"'I can live with that.'" Katharine suddenly mimicked in a higher tone. "If I didn't know you were twelve you could pass as twenty. Could you be any, more formal?"

"Yes Mi'lady." Madeleine grabbed the corners of an imaginary skirt and curtsied.

"I swear Madeleine, I don't even see how you think you can look decent in those... things." Katharine said 'things' with a disgusted air. "I won't tell though. But if that _Edward_ character even comes close to you... Well, smack him for me. Alright?" Madeleine rolled her eyes and nodded again.

Madeleine decided to try, to not laugh at how her sister had switched from mad, to overly protective in five minutes. A fact that she found hilariously funny. Katharine leaned over to give her a big sisterly kiss on the cheek but Madeleine quickly danced out of reach. "And no kisses!"

The sixteen year old shook her head, smiling, then started off back across the field. Madeleine stuck out her tongue and made a face at her retreating back. Then, seeing she was safe for the time being, turned around to face the same onslaught from Edward.

* * *

E: _CHEATER! Cheater! Cheater! Cheater! Cheater! You were going to sneak those cards! I know it! I know you Madeleine Cahill!_

M: _And I know you! I don't cheat. But if I remember correctly, I did catch you once with a ace up your sleeve..._

E: _It fell there._

M: _Oh. Really. An ACE! How the heck did an ACE, just happen to 'fall' up your sleeve? ANSWER ME THAT!_

E: _Man, you are a bad writer. How does a card 'fall up' your sleeve? Cards always fall down._

_M: And that was my point exactly. You cleared yourself. You cheated and put and ace up your sleeve. Ha. I don't cheat. Besides, you should give me credit for telling Katie your name. She could of just gone on saying 'farm-boy' for the rest of her life. I think she liked you too. She just didn't know your name. And, she can't climb trees. She wouldn't be caught dead in a tree, wearing breeches._

E: _No wonder I chose the nicer choice_.

M: _Katie wouldn't of been caught dead with you anyway. 'Farm-boy'..._

E: _Alright, quit the jabbing and I'll continue. This is my part anyway. Read and learn young jedi. Master Yoda will teach you..._

M: _MASTER YODA? Who do you think you are? Remind me to take your Grand Jedi skills down a notch or two..._

_

* * *

__A _girl_? But... _Edward couldn't find the words or even the feelings to describe what he felt. He leaned against the large tree and slid down the trunk, that he and Alex had always eaten lunch at. Alex. With him. Inside he felt undescribably betrayed. Alex had been his only adviser and only friend for _three weeks_ and then Alex, turned out to be _Madeleine_. A picture of how pretty she had looked with her hair down popped into his head. _But that's not fair! _His mind screamed. _You ought to shun her! A girl shouldn't be plowing anyway! She took Tom's job and sneaked away from the house!_ Yet a different part inside of him wanted to welcome her. To accept her and let her stay. It didn't seem right to turn her aside.

Her face when she saw Katharine shone fresh in his memory. _She doesn't want to go!_ He argued with himself. _She wants to stay and plow. One of the only people in the world that actually wants to go and work._ The humor didn't make him laugh. Alex had always made him laugh. Queer thoughts and awkward random things, he had always made sound funny. 'You can make an elephant laugh.' Edward had told him once, and they'd both laughed as if it was a joke. It wasn't even funny, technically, but being with Alex had made Edward feel like he could be himself, not trying to hide and pull the mask over his head that other people wanted to see. Not even Thomas had made him feel the way the Alex had. Nor the children in the school he'd enrolled himself into. No one had ever made him feel that way.

_But will the laughter and fun go away with the Alex I thought I knew? _For a moment Edward was so afraid he wanted to start running. The thing he did whenever he felt afraid, or stressed, or wild, or carefree- _Carefree._ He found the word. _That's what she makes me feel like. Carefree. Like there's nothing in the world except her and I. No worries, no money, no teasing, no school, no lessons. She makes me feel like... _He thought for a moment. _Air._

Madeleine sat down against the tree trunk beside him, setting the lunch pail between them like she always had. But Edward was too lost in his own thoughts to notice.

_Madeleine. _The thought swirled around the others in his head. It was almost like a cattle drive. As Edward pictured it. His tiny thoughts the cattle, while the roundup-er was Madeleine, weaving them all together into one big knot. Or batch. Or herd. He glanced over at her. She had Thomas', he now recognized, patched clothes, all dirty and covered with a thick film of dust from working all day. In one hand was a rice pudding-covered sandwich that she was trying not to get dirty. Edward had to work hard not to smile. He remembered her first attempts not to get dirty and how she always yelped when Carrie kicked up a big clot of dust. His eyes strayed from Madeleine to her hair, glossy black and waist-length. _Beautiful._ He instantly pushed the word out of his mind. He was just a work-hand. She was the daughter of the man that owned the land. He had no right.

Edward tried to force that thought into his mind and stuff everything else out. But it didn't work. The thoughts of Madeleine just boiled closer and closer to the surface, becoming more red and dangerous with every try to force them away. "Why did you lie?" _Did I say that?_ But Madeleine was looking at him. He had to of said it. Edward could feel his face reflect the longing and pain that he felt inside. The betrayal.

She looked at the ground, her eyes mirrored what he felt. The pain, and the hope that just being themselves would heal it all. "I... didn't think you'd like working with a girl. And anyway, nobody would of let me go out if I wasn't dressed like a boy. I've done it often enough now that I can fool most people."

A smile began to twitch at the corners of Edward's mouth. "You wanted to fool me?"

"No! Well... yes, technically. I had to. And besides, Tom's going to be mad at me once he finds out that I've been working out here. Everyone will."

He watched her. She was willing to risk her family just to work outside. To sweat and toil and break her back every night. Yet, as he looked back, she had never complained. She had never quit on the job or left it to him to finish. She was daring enough to take matters into her own hands. Not leave them to someone else. She was- "Lovely."

"What?" Madeleine's mouth started to pull up to her left like it always did when she started to smile. It was like she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to smile or if she didn't. "That's not such a 'lovely' matter with us Cahills. You ought to hear us sometime."

All the tidbits of information about the Cahills that 'Alex' had supplied popped into his head. _Of course she knew everything about them. _He dug into the lunch pail and pulled out a pudding-covered sandwich. Edward didn't have any appetite though, so he just held it. _She's a Cahill too._ "I guess you hear them a lot."

Madeleine looked up into the trees, her face wasn't laughing. For her it wasn't a joke. Edward immediately felt stupid and cursed his tongue. "Yeah, I..." She sighed. "Yeah, I hear them a lot."

There was silence. Edward didn't know what to say. If he tried to comfort her she'd probably burst into tears like most girls would, and if he just pressed on with the same topic she'd probably do the same thing. Stupid complications. He took a bite out of the sandwich but it stuck like a big glob in his throat and wouldn't go down.

"Do you hate me now?"

The whisper was so quiet, yet so emotional that Edward stopped in his tracks. Hate_ Madeleine_? How could anyone hate Madeleine? He looked at her, and she had a puppy-look in her eyes. She trusted Edward, and she'd except whatever he would say. In the weeks before, if he'd had to guess if Madeleine was a certain age, he would of said thirteen, or even fifteen. But her emotions slipped out with the words. She was still a twelve year old. No matter how thick her outer shell was, she was still the twelve year old that needed someone to rely on, to trust, and Edward had been that person. He could see the fear in her eyes. The fear that if Edward went away, she would break down completely. She wouldn't be the same Madeleine.

It reminded him of the night when his parents had died. One of the Dutch dikes had broken and they'd handed him to friendly neighbors that'd had a boat. He could still hear his Mother's voice as she held him for the last time, pulling him to her. Then she rushed back with his Father to try and salvage what they could before the water hit. He could still feel the relief he'd felt when the news had reached them that the water had only gotten a mile away. His parents had been walking back, his Mother's arms open wide for him. And he could still hear the roar of water that swept down when the second dike had broken. His scream when his parents had been swept away, right before his very eyes. He could still feel his anguish. The way he'd cried himself to sleep night after night. The way the neighbors had searched for the bodies and the way they'd held him when nothing could be found. The words still echoed in his ears. 'They are lost Ateoord.' The Dutch pronunciation of his name. The way he'd never wanted anyone else to pronounce it.

He felt the same anguish in Madeleine. The fear for her family and the slender hope that, in a way, she might be able to piece it back together. He shook his head slowly, looking her in the eye. "I could never hate you."

She blushed and looked at the ground, black hair creating a screen to hide her face. Edward slowly reached over and slipped his arm around her back. Madeleine looked up in surprise. _But..._ He pushed all his second thoughts away and squeezed her shoulder. She smiled and looked up into his eyes. _They're green._ Edward blinked. He'd never seen Madeleine's eyes out in the sun because of the straw hat always covering them. He smiled back down at her, then turned to eat his sandwich. It tasted even better with pudding on it.

* * *

M:_ I wish I'd known then... Master Yoda._

E: _The past Master Yoda can not change. Continue, you should._

_

* * *

__Four Weeks Later;_

_If you go back to the fields today, Father's going to know about it._

_-TC_

Madeleine blinked, raising an eyebrow and reading the note again. _Is that really all that he's going to threaten me with? Just because he thinks he's so grand since he's gotten back, doesn't mean I have to stop plowing. _Madeleine thought of what she'd said to Katharine and it caused a momentary twitch on her lips. _Well, I didn't promise. _She got dressed, climbed on her desk and slid out the window. She had long abandoned the tactic of jumping to the still, coincidentally falling, much more often than not.

Once she was almost to the first field, she took off the straw hat, letting her loose hair fall down to her back and the breeze blow it away. "Hey Maddie, up kind of early for you." Shove.

Madeleine found herself flying into the trunk of a tree. She put her arms out and stopped herself just in time. Edward laughed, teasing. Whirling around, she tossed the straw hat to him. "Well it seems that a lot of other people are early risers. Especially if they have to walk all the way from the east side of town."

Edward laughed again, tossing back the hat. "All the way to work. I got to hitch a ride with another farmer this morning though. So it chipped off the time a good..." He thought for a moment, "Fifteen percent."

"Nine minutes?" Madeleine raised an eyebrow.

"Darn. No, I meant fifteen."

"Well if you walk an hour, then it'd be twenty-five percent, not fifteen."

"Math geek."

"Dung mucker." If Madeleine was in a name-calling game, she was _never _short of names for _any_ person.

Edward stuck out his tongue. "Twelve year old."

"Hey!" A stick was ripped off a pine tree and thrown at him. "I'm only two years younger than you! Suck it up! You can't even liven up a party!"

"And what's your meaning of livening up a party? Doing the chicken dance?" Edward stuffed his hands in his armpits and arched his back, walking around and making noises like a chicken. "Bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk." A stick sailed out of Madeleine's hand and landed with a smack on his head. She waved another one and let it go flying past his right ear. "Hey!"

Edward started off in a run, heading back the way he'd came. He was tracked for a quarter of mile before he almost hit his head on a pine cone and an idea popped into it. But Madeleine was right on his heels. "What are you thinking now? This is a pretty lively party. And you're getting beaten by a girl. No hands too!"

"Yeah right. Fat chance." Madeleine had to turn tail and run, pine cones being picked off the trees and chucked at her. She dodged back and forth, heart racing. _Oh geeze._ Her boot caught in a gnarled tree root and tripped her. Edward stomped on the breaks but he couldn't stop fast enough. They both ended up in the dirt, one on top of the other.

Madeleine instantly blushed, her internal warning system beeping. _Too close!_ But for a moment, she didn't want him to go. The Autumn days were starting to get chilly and even with all of Thomas' clothes on, Edward's heat was welcome. Or was it just her?

Edward scrambled up and they scanned each other's beet red faces, then looked down at the ground in embarrassment. The just-turned, fourteen year old turned away and started to the barn to get Carrie. Madeleine started towards the fourth, and final field to be plowed.

* * *

Thomas yawned. The sun shone through the window and penetrated his curtains, waking him up. _Plowing. Stupid work._ He got dressed, still half asleep and started toward the barn, wondering if Katharine had been telling the truth with Madeleine and her doing his job. _Hmm, hiking's so much better than plowing._

"Morning Ed." Thomas stuck his pitchfork into the haystack and tossed some into the feeder for Carrie. It was the perfect toss. Thomas had never missed it once.

"Morning." There was a pause, as if Edward was thinking what to say next. "Did you have a good break?"

Thomas nodded, eyes half-shut. He wished that sleep would claim him again, but as much as he wanted it to, it seemed to go farther and farther away. Out into a cold blue world that's temperature was higher than the Alps. Much higher. He self-consciously shifted his tunic so it could let a little heat out.

"Hot?"

Edward's eyes twinkled. Mischievously, Thomas thought. _Like he knows something. _"Yeah, why? If you were use to a twenty degree climate too. You'd be sweating."

Edward rolled his eyes and continued curry combing Carrie while she ate. "You know, Madeleine's helped me a lot while you've been gone-"

"What?" Thomas' eyes shot open. _Madeleine. Helping. If she's still there after the note I left..._ He left the thought unfinished in his mind.

"Madeleine's been helping while you were gone." Edward repeated and paused as he switched to the wire brush. "I'd probably still be stuck on the second field if she wasn't."

"Wasn't." Thomas' eyes narrowed, "She's still helping?"

Edward wasn't looking at him and didn't see the change, the power suddenly outlined in Thomas' movements. "Yeah."

"Where is she now?"

"Oh, probably out in the fourth field. We were just starting it when you came back."

Thomas was out of the barn almost before Edward had finished his sentence, quickly running to the fourth field. _She's going to pay for this! Taking my job while I'm gone? _Thomas momentarily forgot that he had left because he had wanted to. Not because he'd been sent on an errand. _Preposterous!_ He could see the clearing through the trees after a few minutes of heavy running and there was Madeleine, like always. Black hair and green eyes prominent.

He had just burst out of the trees when he heard hoof-beats behind him._ That dratted Edward!_ Thomas managed to keep running and stay ahead of the horse, but Carrie wasn't that far behind. Madeleine stared at the two boys, one riding and the other running toward her. Her brother was only a few yards away when she sidestepped to her right. Thomas tripped, flying smack into the spot where she'd just been standing. The unlucky part for Madeleine was that she'd stepped directly into oncoming Carrie's way.

_

* * *

I swear, do boys get any smarter? Their dumb level decreasing in other words. Or do they just increase in stupidity? Must be why they're always on an unbalanced scale of dumb, and stupid. _Madeleine stifled a giggle while she swung up onto Carrie behind Edward. Carrie stepped right and left, feeling her original rider was unsure of what he wanted to do. Madeleine clamped her legs evenly around the horse's round barrel belly and withstood Thomas' glares for not riding saddleside.

She noticed, with a bit of pride, that he had gathered more dust on his fall than she had when she'd fallen out of her window the first time. Thomas shook his fist. "You took my job!"

Madeleine held up her hands in a 'calm down' motion. Thomas rolled his eyes, but crossed his arms and listened. "I didn't take your job. I was helping. And if I hadn't, look at the fact that the fields wouldn't be plowed and all the crops would be late. You wouldn't be eating the next planting season if the soil wasn't turned. And I _wanted_ to help! Why do you think I can't do things? Let someone else have a chance for once!"

Thomas didn't stop glaring at her. "I don't care." He snapped. Then he turned his back and started walking away. "And you will pay for this. Trust me Madeleine, you, will."

Every inch of Madeleine deflated. _Maybe he won't tell Father, he'll just seethe and then... then he'll be good ole' fashion Tom again. Yeah, that's what he'll do. _She slowly got off Carrie and started to harness her up. Edward helped, but he had known Madeleine for long enough that he didn't interrupt. Her mind was too busy.

* * *

E: _Do boys get any smarter? That's insulting!_

M: _Hey, dude, calm down. I was twelve. You're just lucky I told the truth and didn't say something nicer to soften the blow._

E: _'Blow' isn't right, more like; 'Blow the man down'. You better start writing again before I blow my top because you blew me down._

M: _Yeah right. You're very lucky that you got me Edward._

E: _I agree. Start writing._

* * *

Madeleine walked into the kitchen, ignoring looks as she sat down at the table in her spot. She was dusty and sweaty. She hadn't had time to clean up, only sneak into her room and change into a dress. Trying to assume a casual air, she started eating. Nobody spoke though, and as she ate, the silence ate away at her nerves.

After a good five minutes of nerve racking, Gideon turned to Madeleine. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, killing time. "I heard you were out working in the fields today Madeleine."

Olivia glanced at her youngest daughter with a look of surprise, but didn't say anything. Madeleine wished she had. "Yes Father."

Gideon took another slice of bread. "I do not want you, from now on, to go out into the fields. You will stay in the house and help your Mother and sisters keep it."

Madeleine quickly looked at Luke. His face had mild displeasure with her, but he definitely hadn't ratted her out. Jane was the same way. But both Thomas and Katharine were picking at their food, faces down. _The rats._ Madeleine glared at them, even though they couldn't see it. Then she sat up. "Do I have to Father?"

Everyone stared at her. It was the first time she'd ever questioned Gideon's authority. It was the first time, anyone, in the household, had ever questioned Gideon's authority. They watched, completely wide-eyed.

Gideon kept his face slightly down since he had been spreading butter on his bread, but his eyes looked up, straight at Madeleine. "Yes, you do."

He looked back down at the table and everybody's head, except Madeleine's, followed his example. "Please?" She gathered up her courage. "Don't make me stop working. I love doing it."

Her Father had a look of surprise written on his face when he looked up. "I'm not making you stop working, you just aren't allowed to go out into the fields and do it."

"Why?" Madeleine swallowed hard. Even then her voice came out a whisper. "I don't see why."

"You aren't suppose to see 'why'." Gideon's eyes gave off a little flash of anger but he kept his cool. "But in fact, if you don't notice, the woman's place, is in the home. So stay there." He started eating again.

"But I want to know why! Why can't I go work in the fields? I haven't got eaten by a bear yet! And if you're worried about me slowing Edward down, I'm not doing that either! Ask him yourself! He'll tell you that he never would of gotten as far as we are without me."

Gideon didn't stop eating. "Madeleine, this conversation is finished. If you would like to go to your room, you may."

"No," Madeleine's voice came out a whisper again, then it gained power. She stood up and slammed her fist on the table, making the dishes jump and everyone look at her. "No! This conversation _is not_ finished! You never told me the answer to my question. You're trying to push me out! I love plowing! Just as everyone in this room loves something! What would _you_ feet like if someone told you never to work in your lab again?"

Gideon stood up also, both hand palms down on the table. "Madeleine, this conversation is _finished_. Go to your room."

"No!" There was another stomp of her foot. "I _will _go to my room, but only if you tell me why I can't work!"

"Madeleine, Elizabeth, Cahill." Gideon drew her name out with a deadly, threatening sound. The other children started to quiver in their shoes. Never had their Father used someone's full name when he was punishing them which he never had needed to do before. Madeleine wasn't deterred. "You," He breathed. "Are a child, and, you are a girl."

"That's what this is all about? I'm a _girl_?" Madeleine's voice started to rise as she forgot to be scared. "I'll go to my room, but you're wrong! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I have to live my life doing nothing but dusting! Look at yourselves! You're afraid of _anything_ that's new! If you don't know it, it scares you!" Madeleine shoved her plate into the middle of the table. "For once maybe you won't be scardy-cats."

"Go to your room!" Gideon slammed his fists on the table and roared. He ignored the fact he had never had to scream at any of his children before. "If I see you outside for _any_ reason, you will be _punished_! Severely! Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course you're clear." Madeleine shot back. "Clear as glass. You're being unfair." Her throat started to clog and she could fee the sobs starting to come through. _Not to go outside. Ever._ "I hope you enjoy ruining my life!" She turned around and walked into her room as fast as she could and slammed the door shut.

Once she was in her room, she let the dam break and she sank to her knees, leaning against the bed. Madeleine laid her head on her arms, wishing fervently that tears would come, but they wouldn't. So all she had inside of her was the boiling, seething, red-hot heat of betrayal.

* * *

Although no one saw him, there was a fourteen year old boy, watching the proceedings with interest. He had blond hair and blue eyes. There was only one word going on in his mind, spoken by the woman who had been his Mother and who had always comforted him. He desperately wished that he could sooth the sobbing girl inside the house, but he couldn't. Still, the faint echo of a plan started to form around the word he had heard so many years ago.

"_Ateoord."_

* * *

M: _I didn't know you were there. I knew you 'knew' somehow. But I didn't know that you sat and listened in. Eavesdropper..._

E: _I didn't get caught. That's the important thing, right?_

M: _Hmm. I'd of loved to see Father open up the door and start screaming at you. Well, it actually wouldn't of been that funny if he was yelling at you, and I would of stepped in, but... well... You know what I mean._

E: _That would of been pretty funny actually. I'd of gotten fired... I would of been scared if Gideon was yelling at me though. Especially if I was the only one that got yelled at. If I were you though, I probably would of ratted out Tom and Katie._

M: _Nah, I was too mad to rat them out. I wasn't even thinking straight._

E: _Wow. First time you admitted it..._

M: _Don't you dare get any ideas buster..._

E: _I'm going to go play with Wade before Nataliya calls. Geeze. Talk about consistent that lady..._

**Sorry, this is one of the longest chapters. Don't worry. All the other ones are pretty short.**

**Question; What do you think about Edward and his parents? And what do you think about Madeleine? Do you think she did what was right? Did she deserve her punishment? **

**Do you see that little button below this that says 'review'? CLICK IT! CLICK IT! CLICKIT! *continues on endlessly*...**

**~Lapulta~**


	8. Wish, Hope, and Dream

**Hi Missbell! Or, maybe I should say; Hi Jayme! Yes, I did figure out who you are! *laughs*. Thanks a lot for reading! Oh, and maybe Ty-guy would like to read it too if he hasn't read Book 10... **

**PurpleTea88: Thank you, and yes, I know about the Katharine/Katherine thing. I just honestly don't feel like going back and redoing and re-editing, and re-reading 19 chapters, which is what I've written by now. Besides, even though it may not be spelled right, I'm pretty sure that everyone knows what I mean. I'm definitely not trying to be offensive, but I really don't want to go and do that. Anway, In one of my books (39 Clues) -I get mine hot off the press- I saw a 'Catharine' misspell for Katherine. If I had done that, then I would go and correct it, but an e, and an a, isn't too much of a difference. Sorry, but in my story it's going to be spelled Katharine from chapters 1-19. After that I'll try my best to do 'Katherine'. ~L~**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE!**

M_: You know, I'm sort of starting to, well, get kind of scared of this book._

E: _Scared of a bunch of papers? Why? Wait, don't tell me. You've got too much information in it. Jeeze... It's not like Luke's going to read it or anything. And you didn't write it to make anyone feel guilty. You're just writing it because you want everything to get written down the way it happened. There's nothing wrong with that._

M: _Yeah... I guess you're write._

E: _Prankster. Remind me to check under the welcome mat outside for marbles again. Ian's still probably got that bruise on the back of his head..._

M: _Why would I remind you to go move them if I wanted them there? Besides. The look on Ian's face was priceless. I put the video up on YouTube. It's already got a ton of viewers. I caught Amy reviewing it. She thought it was hilarious._

E: _That's mean. Excuse me everybody. I've got to go check the mat outside. Madeleine; write._

* * *

_The Next Day;_

**Chapter Seven;**

"**...We Can Do Nothing but Wish, Hope, and Dream."**

For the first time, ever since Madeleine had turned two, she hadn't gone outside. Instead, her only substitute was going to the doorway and standing there while she watched Katharine take Edward and Tom their lunch. She thought about asking their Father if he would let her take out the lunches, but she figured that he'd still be mad enough to deny her, her wish. So she scowled and helped Jane by stopping her new 'stew' from over-boiling.

By dinnertime, Madeleine was so mad that no one even dared speak to her. Her face could be read clearly. 'One word and I'll punch the person who says it.' So there was no conversation through dinner. Once dinner was done, Madeleine went straight to her room and locked the door. Not even helping with the dishes afterward like usual.

Everyone else noticed the difference too. Jane was lonely, washing dishes alone and both Tom and Katharine were covered in guilt. They hadn't known that just telling their Father would make it so hard for Madeleine, and they definitely hadn't known that Madeleine would take it as she had. Gideon had a constant pinch in the back of his mind, wondering if he, perhaps, had been just a tiny bit too hard on his youngest daughter. But Luke was the one that felt her absence most keenly.

Madeleine had always been his sidekick, the copilot, the one that helped steer him right. Except with her yanked in her own world he felt abandoned and lost. Madeleine had been all of the Cahill's backers and now that they stood alone they felt their singleness and own simplicity. Luke tried his best to coax her out of the shell she had developed, but nothing worked. And since Tom and Katharine had robbed him of the Madeleine he loved, he turned his back on them. Causing a domino effect in the family that sent a tidal wave over the one single island they had been and created six little separate ones.

_Four Days Later;_

"Madeleine _please_, open the door."

"No."

Madeleine's reply was flat and dull. She didn't feel like putting any emphasis into it. She had gone for _five days_ without setting a foot outside and she could feel the hole inside of her without even trying. It was the space that she had always filled with the inner Madeleine. The one that loved teasing and throwing pine cones. The part that hiked and embraced the world. And the part that, deep down inside, although she would never admit it, missed, dreadfully missed, Edward.

Madeleine slumped on her desk. She had her pen in hand, but nothing popped into her mind to draw. There was another knock on the door and rattle of the doorknob. "Please!" Madeleine didn't answer. All she could think about was the clues. They were tearing her family apart. She'd realized it in the past few days. And in her heart, she knew she had to destroy them. Somehow, someway. _Father sleeping in his study._ She shuddered._Our family shouldn't be torn apart like this. No one's family should ever be torn apart like this. _Yet she had no idea what to do.

Crack!

It sounded like a stick broke just outside Madeleine's window and she jumped up. Alert system beeping. When she'd reached the window to look out of it, there was no one outside. In the person's place was a red silk ribbon and a broken stick that was obviously the one that had been snapped. There was a note tied to the string. Madeleine looked for any people, and then reached out and pulled the items to her, opening and closing the curtains.

The writing on the note was rather simple and crude. It wasn't the handwriting of a educated person and a few of the words were misspelled. Madeleine smiled, puzzled, but happy because of it.

To the blak-hared girl.

_That's it?_ Madeleine blinked and ran her eyes over the one line again. _But who the heck sent it? _There were no codes like the ones Luke would of used and no lemon-juice scribbles like Katharine. The person who had left it had wanted to keep his identity a secret and he had succeeded with flying colors. She wished momentarily that she had gotten up out of her seat quicker and then she could of seen the message-leaver.

Madeleine untired the ribbon and gently looped it around her hair, tying it into a bow. She glanced at herself in a shard of mirror and blushed. She had always worn her hair down and never bothered to put it up, but seeing her hair in the red ribbon sparked a tiny bit of girly-ness.

Even in tom-boy Madeleine, hidden inside, was the part that truly did want to see herself pretty and her hair up. Except she'd always pushed it away. _Oh well. _She thought. _I'll wear the ribbon tomorrow._

Hidden out of sight, the blond haired boy anxiously hoped that his gift would be taken and excepted by the girl that he lov-_liked_.

* * *

M: _Lov-liked. You really like trying a girl's patience don't you._

E: _Hey! Oh, and here's the marbles. If you're going to do that, don't put more than ten under there. Poor Ian's going to get conked on the head with the marbles as well, if you do fifty. I get to hold the video camera this time. I'll play marbles with you when we're done here._

M: _Challenge accepted. Ready to get beaten? Oh, lets finish this first... _

* * *

Madeleine walked out of her room with the ribbon tying back her hair. _Fifth day._ She thought ruefully to herself. Nothing could cheer her up, except, maybe, out-doors. Madeleine knew herself that she was too far gone to be any use to anyone, or anything.

"Maddie, please."

Madeleine felt Katharine's hand drop onto her shoulder. She wasn't to the kitchen yet so she had no escape. "Go away."

"Maddie, I wanted to say I'm sorry." Katharine swallowed hard, cutting off her whisper. "I'm sorry that Tom and I told on you. But you- you shouldn't of been in the fields anyway!"

Madeleine didn't turn around. She could feel that Katharine was telling the truth, but it was hard to swallow, to forgive her. "Katie," She suddenly whispered back, tilting her head slightly to the right but not facing her sister. "You aren't allowed to go into your lab and work. Ever, again."

The actual words took Katharine by surprise and she stumbled backwards. "But-"

Her sister's eyes turned up and Katharine could see and feel the incredible amount of pain, fear, rejection and betrayal there. For the first time in her life, Katharine was truly afraid. Afraid of what Madeleine was going through, afraid that she herself would have to go through it. Katharine would of rather cut off both her legs than stop going to her laboratory. Katharine saw the same thing in Madeleine. Madeleine couldn't live with not going outside. She would wither away and die. Perhaps not physically, but inside, in her spirit. Katharine was sickly, quaking-ly afraid.

"Now you know how it feels." Madeleine's eyes turned from Katharine, leaving her to live alone on her own, little island.

_I hate myself._ Madeleine paced to the other side of her room. Passing in and out of a puddle of moonlight on her floor as she did so. She turned around. _I hate myself._ Back to the other wall. In and out of the puddle. Turn around. _I hate myself. _Back. In and out. Turn. _I hate myself._ Again. _I hate myself... I hate myself... I hate myself._

Madeleine couldn't stop thinking those three little words. Luke had told her that it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't stop thinking them. Luke didn't know what she was going through. Nobody knew what she was going through. And if nobody knew what she was going through, then nobody could comfort her. Then she should tell somebody. _But no one will understand. No __one knows what I'm going though. Nobody. Nobody._

Madeleine swallowed hard and continued pacing. _Back. In and Out. Turn. That's it Maddie, just keep pacing. Back. In and Out. Turn... Back. In and- What the heck?_

A shadow appeared right in the middle of the moonlight puddle. The hair was cropped short and Madeleine instantly deducted that it was a boy. The shadow knelt down by a bush. It was the same bush that Madeleine had found her ribbon on. Her hand crept up and she rubbed it absentmindedly. It must be the Ribbon-leaver._ Edward. I'll bet a golden giblet that it's Edward._

Pulling up the juneberry red dress' skirt, Madeleine climbed through the window. It _was_ Edward. His straw colored hair, reflecting off the moonlight, gave him away. _I owe myself a golden giblet._ Madeleine had to try hard not to giggle. Only Kings and Queens had gold. More or less, golden giblets. Placing herself right behind Edward she laid a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

E:_ I swear... Let's skip this part. It's like, the most embarrassing day of my life._

M: _Phhh. Just for that I'm going to go into detail. Plus, it was probably the best day of your life. Maybe... There were some other good ones in there. I know it was one of my best days._

E: _Mmm. I liked when we-_

M: _Bean spiller!_

E: _Okay, whoever's reading this. Sorry. You're going to have to wait since Maddie just_-

M: _I'm sorry folks, Edward has to write now. Write Edward._

* * *

Edward felt like he'd been stuck with a red-hot iron. _Caught. That's just great. I can't even put a necklace on a stick. Good job Edward. Geeze, good job._He caught the irony of the fact that he wasn't even doing a job so it was impossible to say that he'd done a good job. There was stifled laugher.

He straightened up and turned around. Madeleine stood before him, eyes holding a question of 'why was he standing outside her window'. Edward held the hand with the necklace behind his back. "Ahh-"

Madeleine rolled her eyes, "Spit it out Ed. You're here, so I might as well know."

There was a moment of silence. "You're wearing my ribbon."

Both children blinked, neither the one who spoke it nor the one who was listening, expecting that reply. The twelve year old gave a little secretive grin though and reached up to touch it lightly. "So you did leave it. What are you hiding now?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Edward tried to fasten the string of the necklace to the shrub behind him. It was an impossible task since he couldn't even fasten it with being able to face it.

"Edward... Spit it out."

"Ahh- I can't."

"Mmm Hmm. Really."

"It's... Ahh... Very... Secretive, and... Umm... Necessary to hide?"

Madeleine gave him a 'really' look that said she was looking right through his attempts to hide the necklace. "Edward..."

He rolled his eyes and brought out the necklace from behind his back. Madeleine gasped when she saw it. She had a right. The chain was only a thin piece of yellow silk string, somewhat like the ribbon Madeleine had in her hair, but the locket it held was pure gold. It was oval in shape and rather tarnished with tiny engraved poppies on the front. Not saying anything, anyone could tell that it was old, but it still shone brightly. Madeleine gently took it from Edward's hand and pressed on the latch.

The locket popped open, revealing a soft backing where a portrait was to be placed. The twelve year old ran her finger over the front, clearing it of dust. Edward saw that she couldn't say anything and then obliged her by not asking her too. "It- it's beautiful." She finally whispered. Not meeting Edward's eyes but still staring down at the locket. "I can't think of anything else to say."

Edward's mouth twitched up into a tiny smile. "You don't have to. Laugh for me."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Madeleine gave him an are-you-really-serious look, but he returned it with

his dead-pan stare. Madeleine burst out laughing.

Edward could tell it was the read thing. It wasn't hard to detect her fake one. To Edward, Madeleine's real laugh always held a certain lightheartedness that was impossible to match. No other person could hit the exact tone, the precise timing that it took to imitate it. Madeleine's laugh was one of a kind. He crossed his arms and did the dead-pan look again. Madeleine laughed harder, doubling up with her arms crossed over her stomach. "Stop!"

Edward deepened his voice. "Oh, really. You want me to stop doing what? I say, can't you be any more _descriptive_?" Another dead-pan stare.

Madeleine was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. "Ed- Edward... Stop!"

Suddenly Edward thought he heard a footstep somewhere in the forest. "Maddie, shh." Reaching forward he cupped his hand over her mouth shutting off her laughter. The forest was eerily silent, but there wasn't another sound that suggested someone was watching them.

"What is it?" Madeleine yanked his hand off, eyes scanning the forest. Her voice didn't leave a whisper.

"Nothing, I thought I heard someone."

"Really? Like who? Lukajato?" Edward stared at Madeleine blankly, the joke not clicking. "Oh come on, _Cahills_?" Another blank stare. Madeleine finally rolled her eyes. "I swear, nobody seems to get good jokes these days."

"People 'got good jokes' in the Fourteen hundreds?"

There was stifled laughed from Madeleine. "Yes. Apparently."

Both of the children were silent. Madeleine was examining her new locket, playing with the clasp and rubbing the tarnished spots. Edward was watching Madeleine. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She was even prettier in her dress than she was in Thomas' remodeled clothes. If that was possible. And in the moonlight her black hair glistened and shone. Edward desperately wished that he wasn't a farm hand. If he wasn't, then the impossible, might of become possible. But he was stuck where he was.

"Maddie," The word was out of his mouth before he knew he'd said it. Then all her listening attention was on him. "Have you... ever, well... liked... a boy?" Madeleine nodded slowly, looking off into the distance instead of at Edward. He felt his heart sink. _God, I am worthless after all._ Edward managed to swallow. "Who?"

Madeleine's eyes turned up, looking straight into his. A tiny smile twitched on her lips, caught in the half smiling, half not, space that she had when she felt happy. "You."

Madeleine read surprise in Edward's eyes. Surprise and happiness, then a flicker of something else. Something that she'd never seen in anyone's eyes before. It was a mixture of happiness, but it had a different tone to it. A different look. Adoration maybe, or wishful thinking. Whatever it was, he was full of it. It shone through every part of him in beams.

Madeleine felt her heart pause, then start up again, beating faster than she ever would of thought possible. She could feel the feeling that was in Edward start to rise in her too and fill her to the uttermost. His hands suddenly wrapped around hers, then they loosened and his arms slid around her waist, not hard, but gently, barely touching the cloth of her dress. Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck.

They were close. Closer than Madeleine ever thought she'd be to anyone. But then Madeleine never thought she'd be feeling the way she felt about Edward about anyone either. _Edward. I love Edward._ Madeleine was jolted out of the world that she and Edward had been in. She loved Edward. That was the feeling that she'd been feeling. Love. She _loved_ Edward. Edward the teaser. Edward the farm hand. Edward the _farm hand._

The wicked biting truth welled up inside her and she pushed away from Edward's embrace, shaking her head. "No."

He stepped back, "No?"

"We can't," Madeleine bit her lip, still shaking her head. "We can't do this Edward. Not to our feelings, not to ourselves. It will always be there. But..." Her voice trailed off and she looked down at the ground. "But we're not the same. We can't."

Edward's hands found hers again. "Does being different matter?"

"Not to us." Madeleine wriggled her hands free and they softly encased the locket already hanging on her neck. "But to them." His eyes watched her, the love in them still clear, but everything was fogged over. The love had to be hidden, concealed. For a moment she didn't know if she should just start sobbing like a love-lost Juliet, or run away as fast as she could. She couldn't comfort, it would sting like salt in a wound, but hope... "We can do nothing," She whispered, meeting Edward's eyes. "But wish, hope and dream. That's all."

Edward nodded. "I know, still..."

Madeleine held the locket gently in her right hand. "Thank you. You didn't have to give me anything. I wouldn't of blamed you if you didn't."

"You might not of blamed me." Edward's reckless, devil-may-care manner was back. "But I would of blamed myself."

"Ahh," Madeleine raised an eyebrow. "A pessimist eh?"

Edward looked up with both eyes towards the sky without lifting his head, giving him a puppy-dog expression. He stuck out his lower lip. "Unfortunately."

Madeleine started laughing again, then leaned over and shoved him backwards into a pine tree's trunk. "Phhh-" Edward spit out a mouthful of pine needles. "That's not fair! Give me a chance!"

Madeleine snorted, dancing just out of Edward's fingertips. She was a master evader and she used her advantage to the full, side-stepping Edward's enormous lunges while making sure he came within a six inch radius. Finally Edward stopped outside of Madeleine's window, panting and gasping for breath. Madeleine stood, grinning at him a few feet away. She wasn't even tired. "Give in?"

Edward watched her, giving a few more pants. Then he lunged forward and grabbed both her wrists before she could get away. Caught.

Madeleine struggled to get free, but Edward's hands were like vices. They were impossible to escape from. At last she gave up and slumped against him. He had both her feet and her arms crossed in front and was pulling on them in opposite directions. "Give in?"

"Fine! Yes! I give in. Are you happy?" She would of thrown up her hands, but they were still pinned to her side.

"No," He kept her arms crossed. "In fact, I'm not happy. I think I feel like a pudding covered sandwich, a loaf of bread, five cookies, two glasses of milk and slice of cake."

Madeleine leaned her head back and stared at him blankly.

"Oh, come on. You know, 'Am I happy?'." More blank looks. "Seriously M, and you're complaining about the lack of humor in this world? Wh-"

Madeleine twisted her head around and glared at Edward. She could take the many nicknames that 'Madeleine' supplied, but there was one that was unacceptable. "Not M! My name's _Mad-e-leine_! Maddie, I love. Mads, is okay, but no one. No, one, had ever been named, or called M. AND I WILL NOT BE THE FIRST!"

Edward was startled, but he didn't let go of her. "Really? My cousin was named Madeleine and everyone called _her_ M." That was a fib on Edward's part. Both of Edward's parents had been only children

"Not me!" Madeleine roared, "Not-!"

Edward stuffed a hand over her mouth before her voice could get them found out. "Geeze Maddie, I was teasing. Cool it." He let her go.

She gave him another glare, turning around, leaning down, and smoothing out her dress as it had become wrinkled. "Still, no calling me M. Period."

Edward rolled his eyes, "Sure. Of course not. You ought to start a club and call it Madeleine's Madrigals. M could be your symbol or code word or something."

"Really. I'd give it a 99.99 percent chance that I'd _not_ do it and a .01 percent chance that I _will _do it. Happy?"

"You're impossible," Edward whispered back, shaking his head. "Nobody can keep you from doing anything can they."

"If I want to do it."

Madeleine glanced up at the moon. It had started to creep behind a cloud, making everything a tad shade darker blue. Then she looked down at the ground and kept her face there. She didn't know how to say goodbye to a person that you didn't want to leave.

"Goodnight Maddie." Edward finally whispered, breaking the silence. "I'll see you again. Soon maybe."

The twelve year old nodded, looking up and meeting his eyes. All the rage at her Father and family had disappeared, but she knew it would come back the next day when Thomas left for the fields and she wasn't allowed to go with him. "Soon." Madeleine reached for his hand and gently squeezed it. "Remember, wish, hope and dream."

Edward nodded, and then disappeared into the forest's shadows. Madeleine slowly turned

around and climbed back through the window into her own room.

* * *

M: _I'm going to kill you. You didn't have a cousin? And what is with the thing in the moonlight? Stupid dress..._

E: _There's nothing wrong with that. Beside, did you mean Luke, Katie, Tom and Jane when you said Lukajato?_

M: _Duh, what else did you think I was talking about? The moon?_

E: _I'm not sure... I can't remember..._

M: _That was a rhetorical question. We'd better end here. It think I hear Ian's car._

E: _I call the camera!_

M: _Yeah, The Hard Landing of Ian, Part II. YouTube here I come! Oh, and make sure Wade doesn't see you with that camera. It's like he's magnetically attached to that thing._

**Question; Now, who likes Madeleine/Edward? Oops. I spilled the beans... R&R!**


	9. Fire!

**Thank you everybody for reviewing! I've gotten a lot of good comments! Thank you!**

M: _Oh sweet Mama, eleven at night. At least Wade's finally in bed. What did we let him eat anyway?_

E: _Ahhh... I can't remember. Something with #40 Red Dye in it anyway. I don't care. I just don't want a repeat episode of that. Can we just go to bed and not write?_

M: _Nah, one chapter. Then we can go. Still, I guess it's our payback for filming Ian again yesterday. That was too funny. He fell for it exactly like last time too. Jeeze. I can't believe how quick that guy can learn something and how quick he can forget it._

E: _Well, that bump on the head probably helped. Let's write and go to bed._

_

* * *

_

** Chapter Eight;**

** Fire!**

Madeleine was confused.

Ultimately perplexed.

She felt like nothing could unravel the way she felt.

But then she knew Edward could unravel her feelings and then tie them up again in a tighter knot than they were in before.

She loved him, but she couldn't love him.

Why did life have to be so complicated?

Madeleine rolled over in her bed again. After Edward had left, she hadn't been able to go to sleep. She had been so disgusted with Jane and her sandwiches before, that she'd skipped dinner and went to her room. Her stomach was revenging her for doing it. And even if her stomach had been full, she still wouldn't of been able to sleep. Did Edward _really_ like her? She turned away from the thought and tried to focus on what her plan would be for destroying the clues.

The farthest she'd gotten in her plan was that she could go in her Father's lab and smash everything. Only then her Father might suspect robbers and some innocent person in the village might be accused. Maybe even Edward. No, she couldn't do that. So Madeleine's thinking process went in circles for a good hour, going nowhere. Even with her stomach growling, she eventually fell into a restless sleep haunted by dreams.

It was still dark when she woke up, just a slim, pale, crack of sun shining through the part of the window that the curtains didn't cover. Her stomach ached like she hadn't eaten anything in weeks. _Curse the necessity of food._ She thought, then groped around with one hand on her night- stand till she found a stale roll of bread. Madeleine chewed on it in the hopes that it would give her some peace. Unfortunately, once her stomach had figured out that she _did_ have food, it wouldn't leave her alone. So she had to put up with it.

Once thirty minutes had passed and the crack in the curtain had changed to light blue, Madeleine started thinking about the clues again. It was hard to focus on, mostly because of her stomach, but otherwise, because she didn't want to do it. She thought hard though for ten minutes and only came up with the idea that she could lure a robber into the house, break everything and then frame it on him. Except her moral principals wouldn't let her do that either. _Curse moral principals. _She growled to herself. _It's a pity that you can't set them on fire for once and for- Fire... Fire! _Madeleine's eyes lit up and she jumped out of bed, plopping down in her desk chair. Quickly yanking open her drawer, she pulled out her ink-well and started drawing her plan.

_If I can just get everyone out._ Her eyes closed once she was finished with the drawing. _And things that we'll really need, then we'll be alright. And we'll be together again. We'll be a family. And then we can all try and talk to each other. And no one will be mad at me any more. The clues will be destroyed. And we won't yell and scream and bite each other's heads off. We can live._

A wave of sleepy happiness swept over the girl. She'd only slept five hours. After stuffing her drawing and ink-well safely away in her drawer, twelve year old Madeleine Cahill fell asleep, head slumped on her desk. Never in a million years, at that moment, would she of realized, that soon, she would set into motion the event that would change the course of human history. And coincidentally, put the responsibilities of the world upon her thin shoulders.

And once she'd done it, there was no turning back.

* * *

"Madeleine! Wake up and help me make breakfast! One hen's going to have to be plucked, a string of sausages have to be taken out of the cellar, someone has to turn the spit, and if lazy bone-head, lab-geek Katharine over in her room won't do it, the jobs will never get done!"

Madeleine's head jerked up, her eyes blinking her awake. _Who said what?_

"I need some help here!"

_Oh._ Madeleine struggled up, out of her nightgown and into her dress, then she opened the door. Jane was standing there scowling. A memory of last night before she'd fallen asleep hit the younger sister. If she was out in the fields with Edward, she would have to do the stupid housework. She wouldn't have to cook or clean. What was the point of cleaning when you knew how to do it and if the house didn't need it? It was just a waste of time.

Madeleine crossed her arms at Jane. "Sorry, but go chew on a sandwich. I've got some better things to do."

"_WHAT_!" But Madeleine had already shut the door in Jane's face, and locked it. "Open up you- you- you... You!"

"Yes," Madeleine pressed her face up against her door so she could be heard. "It's me."

"You twirp!"

"I'm sorry, someone by the name of 'Twirp' is not home."

"GET OUT HERE!"

Madeleine ignored her sister's yells that would, inevitably, wake up the whole house. Jane would be the one saddled for yelling at 7:00 in the morning anyway. It wasn't worth the effort to argue. It took a minute, but Madeleine finally heard footsteps and a soft voice. Jane left, but whoever had sent her away didn't go either.

Then there was a knock on the door. The knock wasn't a demanding one, like Jane's had been, but a polite question. An asking if the knocker could come in. Madeleine softened and unlocked the door. "It's open."

The doorknob turned and Luke's tousled head of hair poked itself into the room. Then he shifted his tunic and rubbed his eyes. Madeleine had to smile. He was probably still half asleep. "What was Jane yelling about?"

"I refused to help her." Madeleine walked over to her desk and opened the curtains. Light and fresh air flooded into the room. "I guess that there's a certain point you reach when you know how to cook and clean, and the house doesn't need it. It's pointless. Well, in moderation."

Luke's face burst into a sparkling grin, "You're talking to me again!" And then he added the next impulsively, "Are you still mad?"

"Of course I'm still mad," Madeleine shot back, plopping down on her un-made bed. "If I don't straighten up though, nobody else is going to. So I might as well be as cheerful as possible until everyone else gains a nice disposition. Then I can go back to being gloomy."

"Not gloomy, more like storm-cloud-y-ish."

Madeleine nodded, then took a quick second glance out the window. There were dark threatening clouds in the East. They would definitely be in before dark. "Storm-cloud-y-ish then. We're going to have some storm-clouds ourselves before dinner. Well..." Madeleine sniffed the air, testing the humidity. "Maybe when we finish."

Her older brother nodded, just happy that someone was talking to him without yelling. There was blissful silence for a few minutes in the room while nobody spoke. Luke found out that silence was better than yelling. Much better, and more productive. He pondered on ways to fit his new dagger into a case.

Madeleine watched him. She could almost see his thought process. The 1,2,3's forming in his brain. Then he discarded 1, modified 2, and twirked 3. He tried to make the plan of whatever-her-was-doing, right. She loved that.

Madeleine loved plans. It was _plans_ that allowed anyone to spy on anyone else. Or if you randomly walked out into the woods without a plan then, the world would miss a person. _Plans_ allowed for buggies and shoes and nails to be built. If you tried to build them without a picture perfect 1,2,3 then you were down the drain. And while Madeleine watched Luke do his 1,2,3's for whatever-he-was-thinking, she felt like she had never loved him more than at that moment.

"Luke."

His head shot up and he blinked. "Yeah?"

Madeleine sighed and turned to look out her window, both hands on the sill. "I know you're not suppose to pick favorites in a family, and you're suppose to love everyone the same, but you're my favorite."

Luke smiled and pushed himself off Madeleine's bed. It only took him a moment to stand behind her and squeeze her right shoulder gently. _The forest has never look so dry._ He thought. _Or more welcoming to a good rain._ "You're my favorite sister." Madeleine relaxed in his grip, then a picture of her setting the fire so her family could be together again popped into her mind. She tensed. Luke felt it. "What?"

"Will you still love me?" Madeleine whispered, "No matter what happens? Promise?"

Luke laughed. He didn't understand what she was thinking or why that thought was so important to her. "I'll always love you." He whispered, smiling. "Always. _I promise you that._"

_

* * *

__That Night;_

_Just the straw hat, those bread rolls, my extra pair of boots and Dani. _Madeleine thought for a moment, pausing in her mission to stuff the few things she owned into a knapsack. _Well... Mother's ring, that was passed down four generations. And Edward's locket. I'd be a fool if I left Edward's locket, or his ribbon. I hope the storm won't hit before dinner. _Madeleine tied her hair up with the ribbon, and then called Dani out from under her bed. She knew if she didn't set the fire soon, then a match would never catch in the rain. At her command, Dani crawled out from under the bed.

Dani, the now, almost-grownup, but-still-adolescent wolf had changed fur colors. Instead of the all-brown he'd had when he was born, he had black for his legs and four white socked feet. His back and head were still brown, but his ears were tipped black and the tip of his tail was white. As a puppy, Madeleine had schooled him to stay quiet in the house. He had excelled in her teachings and had mastered the art of sneaking. Besides, Madeleine was the only Mother he'd known. He listened to her constantly, even if she wasn't giving him commands. And if she was, he'd break his leg for her if she had asked him too.

_Food for two days. _Madeleine hoped she wouldn't have to share, except with Dani_. That amber stone, and... and Father's clue sheet. I guess I have to bring that too. _Gideon's clue sheet had all the clues printed on it, as well as all the amounts and how to mix them. In the back of her mind, Madeleine knew that she should probably destroy it since it endangered her whole mission, but she couldn't let _all of_ her Father's work go to nothing. She folded it up and stuffed it into her dress pocket.

"Dinner Maddie!"

Jane's voice sang happily down the hallway. She had let Madeleine off the hook, 'just this once' for not helping her. Yet Madeleine knew it'd be the last time that she would ever work in the house. It would be a long time before she'd do it again. All the sacrifices and things she had to give up were worth it though if it brought the family together. If. That was the only problem in the picture. If. Only _if_ the family got together. There was still the chance that they wouldn't. Madeleine sighed and gathered the matchcase she had snatched from the kitchen, stuffing it into her bag. Then she sent Dani outside to wait for her, gathered up her things and stepped into the hallway.

Everything around Madeleine seemed to be in slow motion. The quiet creaking sounds around her seemed to hit her ears a second later than they should of. The world seemed to be watching her. Swallowing hard, she opened the matchcase and pulled a single match out. Gideon's lab was right next to Madeleine's room so it wasn't too hard to fake that she was going to grab something during dinner. Nobody had questioned her, and she almost felt bad about deceiving them. _Deceiving them and burning the house down. I wonder how many people do that._ But the tiny joke didn't make Madeleine smile. She was going to destroy what her Father had worked his whole life on. And he had finally done it. He had made the product of the ingredients. There were thirty nine of them. Clues. Madeleine swallowed. Again.

The final solution was sitting on the table in a vital holder. It was almost glowing, an eery purplish, pink light that was acting like a candle in the dark room. Madeleine's mind wandered, thinking about what the serum could possibly do to make one person, the most powerful in the world. She stepped up to the table so she was only a foot away from the vital.

_How can I do this?_ But even as Madeleine thought it, she knew it was a stupid question. She was stalling. She didn't want to set the house on fire. She didn't want to set her Father's lab on fire. _You can do this Maddie._ She thought to herself. _You're just procrastinating._

"Hey Maddie! Hurry up! Your dinner's going to get cold!"

How could Jane manage to be so happy?

Madeleine took the match and clutched it tightly in between her thumb and index finger. Bringing it close to the lab-table, she hesitated before she struck. _My life is never going to be the same._

And then the fatal match was lit.

Madeleine watched the orange flame. It seemed to hold such promise, but such disaster at the same time. She didn't feel it as the blaze started to creep down and singe her fingers. How could she? The lump in her throat and in her heart hurt twice as bad as singeing could ever burn.

_Please. _She whispered to herself. _Please, don't let this become a bad thing._

Then she gently placed the still burning match under the vital. Bits of wood caught the flame and it started to spread. She watched the glass vital start to melt, drops dripping down the smooth side.

"Maddie!"

_Please, let my family come together again._

Madeleine turned around and walked out of the room.

It was done.

* * *

E: _I didn't know it was like that Mads._

M: _Nobody did. Well, now they do._

E: _But, it was like that? Exactly?_

M:_ Exactly. Let's go to bed. I'm tired._

_**Wow. I'll bet you weren't expecting that. *grins***_

**Question; Who expected Madeleine to do what she did? And who understands why? -Critical question here people- Oh, and who thinks Luke is a nice guy? *grins* You have to answer this one. At least two people, or I won't update. *snickers evily***


	10. Murder, Hate, and Broken Promises

**Now. This was sort of an interesting thing. I have a few readers who are actually following this! GO THEM! Next; the commentaries. Dundundun-dun -Beethoven's Sixth...**

**PurpleTea88; Yes. I completely understand that. I also know that the Cahills were born in Ireland. And that Madeleine didn't take the serum. And that Luke was obviously an only child -bean spiller!- I also know that this is my own idea of how the clue hunt started. And this is Fanfiction-land. I think we're allowed to do that here. Right? I mean, isn't that the entire point of Fanfiction? Anyway. Yes. I know that. I'm just too lazy to go and adjust this entire story to fit SCHOLASTIC'S standards. I can't do that. Sorry...**

**Dr. Thinker; First off- I think you should think a little more. (That was a pun on your name. No offence intended.) Second thing- This fanfic was written for humorous purposes. Not so people can be like humpty-dumpty and go throw themselves off a wall. (I'm praying that you 'cracked' up when you read that joke.)Thirdly- What I ate out of the 39 Clues was honey. Now I'm sweet and I've got a bunch of bees -family- to protect me from the stinking bears -boys- that come around. (Hmm. I wonder why everybody's snickering...) Fourth-in-line- I was looking at your profile, and I saw that you don't read much of the 39 Clues. Please. If you're going to review on people's stories, at least read all the books so you can get a good picture of what we're writing about. I wouldn't review on some Percy Jackson stories for the life of me. I know nothing about the books, so I'd probably give a crappy review. I don't mean to be mean or anything, but seriously, if you're trying to give a decent review, understand what you're reviewing before you review it. It's like saying a piece of apple pie taste bad before you've even tasted the pie.**

**Okay. Thank you everyone! Especially to everyone who have given me encouragement to continue! ~L~**

* * *

M: _Remind me not to let Wade go visit his Aunt Jane again. Cake, and pie, and chocolate ice cream all day. Talk about getting sick! We only had our cookies back then. And cake. If we had the sugar. Pudding too._

E: _Know what you mean. I miss those things. Everything's too sweet nowadays. I'm tired of it. You'll have to make some. _

M: _Sure, sure, sure. Sometime when I'm feeling better. I'm going to be sunk in the depths of despair after I write this chapter. Just watch and see. I'm already feeling ruined._

**

* * *

****Chapter Nine;**

**Murder, Hate, and Broken Promises**

_I hope that potion Luke and I put together, works._ Madeleine could feel herself jumping at every little click of spoon on plate. Her nerves would be fried in five minutes. Very faintly, she could smell the odor of smoke and fire starting to flow down the hall. I wasn't strong, only a bit. She could just smell it because she was waiting for it. Waiting for the door to burst into flames and fire to come pouring out into the hall. Madeleine patted her pocket where the live-forever potion, as she had named it, lay. It was safe.

"Does anyone smell something?" Gideon looked up for a moment, frowning.

Luke sniffed, but he kept his head down so all he'd smell was the food on his plate. "Pork, beans, fried tomatoes. That it?"

"No," Gideon stood up, his nose twitching like a rabbit's. "It's not that... It's something else..." He turned around just in time to see a flame flicker out from under, what he thought was, Madeleine's door. Since Gideon's lab was right next to Madeleine's room, both doors were easily confused with one another. Gideon didn't even think about his lab. "Head outside!"

When she saw the flames and her father yelled, Madeleine was frozen into her seat. Somehow, her mind wanted her glued there. Watching, but not seeing, she felt two strong hands lift her up and start to carry her out of the burning house. Madeleine's bag that she had packed so carefully, slipped out of her grasp and was left to burn. When they were outside, Madeleine felt herself gently deposited on the grass.

"Are you alright?" Luke and Olivia knelt over her.

She nodded faintly, "I'm fine. Where's Father?" Pushing herself up, she looked in back of her Mother and brother to where the entire, right side of the house was in flames. Gideon was herding the other three siblings to a safe area about a hundred feet away. The fire's licking tongues tried to grab them, but couldn't. Luke and Olivia helped Madeleine up, and then the whole family stood together, watching their life go up in flames.

"Wait!" Gideon suddenly screamed at the flames, as if they would stop on command for him. Then he started running towards the house.

Madeleine's eyes widened and she snatched in vain at his tunic. "Father, no! Stop!" But Gideon didn't stop running. The flames almost seemed to grow as he entered into the door. Devouring him.

Olivia turned to her children. Far in the back of her mind, somewhere, perhaps she knew that it would be the last time she'd see them. She brushed back a strand of hair from Madeleine's face and softly kissed her youngest daughter's forehead. "Wait for me here. I'll be back in a minute. I have to go help your father."

"No," Madeleine grabbed her hand, swallowing hard as she fingered the silk lining on her Mother's dress. "No, I'm not letting you go like Father."

"We're not gone." Olivia pulled her dress out of Madeleine's hand. "We'll be back in a few minutes." Un-noticed, Dani slipped up to Madeleine's side and sat down by her. "Just be careful and don't go too near the flames."

"Mother!"

But Olivia was already running to the house. The door frame was engulfed by fire and it looked like some sort of crazy, mad-house in it's own way. She slipped through and for a few minutes all the children relaxed, even Madeleine. Olivia had been so confident. Both of their parents would come out in a minute.

_Then the burning roof collapsed._

"No!" Madeleine instantly made a lunge for the house, shoving Thomas out of the way in a desperate attempt to save her parents. She already knew it was useless though, nobody could live through the burning roof and flaming walls.

"What the-" Thomas reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling holding her back. "Maddie, what do you think you're doing?"

"They're in there!" She struggled against him, tearing at his hand, but he was too strong. The five children watched as the fire sent poof's of embers and flame into the night sky. They were dead. Gideon and Olivia could never had lived through that. They would never see their parents again. And it was all because of the stupid fire.

Thomas' hand slowly let go of Madeleine and she crumpled to the ground, knees under her. She stared at the pile of rubble. At the house that had been hers. Gideon and Olivia were _dead_. Madeleine buried her head in her hands and began to sob.

* * *

M:_ Edward, I can't finish this. I just can't._

E: _Oh great, return of the Sad-Donkey. Do you think I'm going to enjoy writing chapter 20, 21 whenever we get to my part?_

M: _No, not really. But it's all in my perspective. You don't have to write any of it._

E: _(Well that flunked.) Maddie, you have to write it. I would write it but I don't know what happened. Only five people were there._

M: _And four of them wanted to be murderers._

E: _Do you want to write it later?_

M: _No, give me the quill and the ink well, I'll write it now. Get it over with._

* * *

It was without tears. Even on the most important day of her life, Madeleine couldn't cry with tears. She felt like someone was stabbing a knife inside her heart and tearing it out. They were ripping her apart into tiny minuscule pieces, but she could still feel all of them. Hear the millions of pieces screaming out in pain. _I set the fire._ And the knife dug in again.

The pain that she had felt crying before, wasn't like what she was feeling at all. She had thought that before, the pain then was the worst she could ever feel. That when you were sobbing so hard you could barely breathe was the farthest extent your emotions could go. She was wrong. At that instant, she felt like she was having life itself being sucked out of her. Ripped away and stolen. She felt her heart shatter on the cold, unloving ground. And all the happiness she had hoped for- dragged away by the wind.

Dani came up to her and stuck his nose under her hand, trying to get her to pet him. He didn't understand why she was crying. What was wrong? And why was she laying on the ground? Was it a new game? He whimpered and looked up into her eyes. Madeleine flung her arms around his neck and hugged him close, trying to stifle her sobs.

_This can't go on all day._ She thought, swallowing hard. She slowly stumbled to her feet, taking deep breaths and trying to breathe evenly. Madeleine rubbed her eyes, lessening the sting of ash in them. _You have to keep walking, have to keep moving on..._ She turned around, only to find Luke's face twelve inches away from her own.

His eyes were glittering. Not with laughter, as they usually were, but with a kind of look that a shark had on it's face when it watched a minnow. "You set the fire. Didn't you."

Madeleine stepped back. They weren't suppose to know. They couldn't know. Her breathing quickened and she glanced behind Luke. Thomas, Jane, and Katharine were lined up behind him, all staring at her with the same accusing shark-minnow gaze. She could feel the hate, boiling up in Luke and she could feel that he knew the truth. No matter how much she might deny it, he would never believe that she hadn't done it.

They hated her.

"I- I didn't mean for anything to happen." Her shallow breathing continued to quicken. "Honest. No one was suppose to get hurt. And only Father's lab was suppose to be destroyed."

"Of course you didn't." Luke soothed sarcastically. "You only meant to destroy Father's lab. What were you thinking?" The glitter increased. _There's evil there._ Madeleine's warning signal whispered to her. _And you deserve it. You did kill them._ "I'll bet you were thinking about them. About their deaths. Now I know why you won't cry. You can't feel anything. You don't have a heart."

Madeleine's face turned into a look of horror. Nobody. Nobody, had _ever_ said anything about her not being able to cry. It was almost an unspoken rule in the house. She could feel the sobs starting to rise again. "Luke I said I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

"A pretty purposeful accident if you ask me."

"Well I wasn't asking you!" Madeleine took a step away from him, nearly tripping over Dani who had decided to stand right behind her heels. "I'm not asking anybody! I said I didn't mean to! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Luke said his words slowly, dropping them off his tongue like Gideon had done. "The murderer, of my parents, wants to be left, alone?"

Madeleine edged aside, turning around Luke so her back was facing away from the pile of flaming rubble. The sobs she was holding back came out in her voice. "Please, I said I didn't mean it. I love them even more than you do." She looked at the others for support. There was none. Just the same look that Luke had. Hate. "I only wanted the family to be together."

"If you loved them," Luke took a step towards her, forcing Madeleine to take a step back. "Then you wouldn't of done anything. Everything was perfect the way it was."

"Perfect?" Madeleine stumbled back two steps. The other three split apart as she walked backward through them. Pressing against a giant oak tree. Luke remained a foot from her. "Perfect? You call screaming at each other all day 'perfect'? You call a person that is having herself cut into six pieces, 'perfect'? You call a family that can't spend time together for the life of them, 'perfect'? You're wrong! That's not 'perfect'! Nothing was 'perfect' the way we had it! I wanted the family together! That was all!"

"Madeleine," Luke breathed, eyes glinting more than ever. His fingers suddenly rested on his hip and Madeleine saw a dagger concealed there. "You, are a horrible liar."

Something snapped inside the girl. She could take the cuts, she could take the pain, but being called a liar and then going to get stabbed was too much. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had snatched Luke's dagger and was holding it, point up, in between them. Luke took a step back, respecting the sharp blade. "I'm not a liar." Dani sat at his mistress' feet again. "I may be young, I may be inexperienced, but I'm not a liar."

Luke stared into her eyes, thinking. There was a murmur from the group behind him. An order to kill her. Madeleine knew that it wouldn't come to any good. Luke never took orders if he had to. Besides, he was thinking. You couldn't say anything to him when he was thinking. "Well, I wasn't going to give you a choice." He chuckled lightly, but it had a threatening tone to it. "Except you hold the knife now. So what would you like? I can give you a minute. Sixty seconds mind you. And you can run. We'll chase after you, and you'll die. Or you can hand over the knife and I can kill you with no problems whatsoever, on your part, or on mine. Choose."

The twelve year old stared back at her brother. He wasn't the same. He had changed. He was no longer the seventeen year old brother that she had known, he was a man, capable of taking things into his own hands and doing what he wanted with them. A man that would stop at nothing to revenge his parents. Madeleine saw that, and her warning system, although it was beeping as loud as it could go, seemed to beep louder. She didn't move the knife between them, only turning it so the blade was sideways. A sickening, quivering feeling engulfed her until she felt like she had no more support than a bowl full of pudding. She didn't show it though. She had tuned her outer shell so well that the inside wouldn't show unless she wanted it to. Madeleine definitely didn't want it to show then. She took a deep breath. "Father made something that would make, someone, the most powerful person in the world."

Luke raised an eyebrow and leaned onto one foot, a smirk on his face that said he was half laughing. It was his old look, but it still had that tint of hate and a scowl of impatience. He knew every word she was saying. Or, he thought he did.

"Think about it," Madeleine whispered. "Kings and Queens aren't the most powerful people in the world. In a country, perhaps, but not in the world. No one can rule the world. Nobody except whoever, has whatever, Father made. It was tearing us apart. That's why I set the fire. We were all suppose to be together. Again. We were, but we aren't now."

"Alright," Luke looked disdainfully at her. "I'm going to start counting. You run. Just pretend it's a game of cat and mouse. 1... 2... 3..."

"You're not listening!" Madeleine burst out desperately. "Luke! I'm trying to talk."

"Good luck with that. 6... 7... 8..."

Madeleine desperately looked around at the other faces behind Luke. They were familiar faces, ones that she had known for all her life. Ones she had loved. Faces that she had sacrificed her own life for. Faces that were going to kill her if she was caught. _Not a silly game of Cat and Mouse._ Madeleine thought. _But a reality game of Life and Death. And the worst part is that they won't listen._

"11... 12... 13..."

"Luke please." Madeleine slipped the knife into her pocket. "This isn't right."

His piecing eyes met her gaze. Except they didn't relent. Madeleine was on her own. "14... 15... 16... I'd start running if I were you. 17... 18... 19..."

"Come on Dani," Madeleine whispered. A tail thumped. "Heel."

"Oh, and Madeleine," Madeleine looked behind her. Luke was smiling slightly, mouth pulled up at one of the sides in an, almost evil, crooked grin. "I'm going to make you another promise. I promise you, that you will die, and I will be the one that killed you."

Madeleine turned back around. She could feel the eyes boring into her back as she took in her skirt and started to run. It wasn't fair. Doing what they were doing wasn't fair. She had only wanted the family to be together again. Only wanted everybody to see the same things that she did. Why did it have to end this way?

Making sure that Dani was following her, Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill started running down a road heading east. It went towards the village and all the way east, through France, till it hit the sea. She didn't know why she didn't head west and find some place that she and Thomas had explored. Then hide there till the whole episode blew over. Maybe, in the back of her mind, Madeleine knew that what she had done would never blow over. Maybe her automatic warning system was telling her something that she didn't know. Either way, she headed east, towards the village, towards France, and towards the sea.

* * *

M: _Come on Ed, I'm tired._

E: _It's just 7 PM._

M: _Fine. You can stay. I'm going to bed._

E: _Mads... Geeze. She's gone. I never knew what happened, but I can understand now. Especially why she gets into her 'sad moods'. Okay, signing off everyone. There's the phone now for Nataliya. Fiske really needs to think about letting people have a break at nine at night. Or maybe Nataliya's calling to wake Maddie up... Oh happy day..._

**

* * *

****It's sort of funny. My friend, who I'm reading this to, aloud, over the phone, thought Luke was like, a mad-man of some sort. I thought that was kind of funny. I mean, in some respects... **

**Question; Now, who expected Luke to do what he did? Who understands why? Does anyone remember his promise in Chapter Eight? If not, go read the last paragraph again. Who would you like to kill Madeline? Luke, Katie, Tom, or Jane? *Heavy Darth Vader breathing takes over the sound system*-Again, very important questions...- I won't update until I've got three answers to these. Hahahahaha... I feel so evil right now... Blow up the Death Star Luke!**

**"Why did the egg cross the road?"**

**- A Joke from Lapulta**


	11. The Haystack Boy

**Alexia; Whoa! Really? Well. I value your opinion. Luke does kill Maddie -in a way... And as for the Chapter 8 part, it should be in about the last paragraph in the third dividing part.**

**T39CFan; I'm glad I caught you by surprise! Enjoy!**

**Lilmissunshine; Ha! He scared you? Yeah, he scared my other friend too. It's funny. I wrote Chapter Six and Chapter Nine for people to cry at, but so far, people haven't told me that. Lol. The irony.**

**PurpleTea88; I'm sorry you were disappointed. I thought this chapter would be one of the best. Oh well. Maybe you'll like the chapters after this better...**

**PercyJackson; HAHAHA! Someone's on my brainwave! I thought about doing this, but how many fourteen year olds are going to 'just happen' to be walking around in the middle of the night when their beloved is about to be murdered? It just doesn't make sense. Oh well. Yeah, I thought about doing this, but it doesn't happen. *Spoiler* Oopys...**

**Thank you everybody!**

* * *

M: _Now, this, is one of my favorite parts. Ready?_

E: _To be humiliated? Yes. Quite._

M:_ Hmm, in that case, maybe I'll go into detail..._

E:_ Your hair's going to be blacker than black then. It'll be an interesting look for you..._

M: _Don't even try it with that ink well Ed. I'll be good._

* * *

** Chapter Ten;**

**The Haystack Boy**

_I can't run in these stupid things._ Madeleine stopped at the side of the road, leaning against a tree, gasping for breath. Her corset* was choking her. _It's a pain that we even have to wear them anyway. Why couldn't of, whoever invented these, invented, I don't know, something just as stupid, but at least a little bit lighter!_

Dani pranced at Madeleine's heels. Excited to get going and keep running. His boundless energy pushing him on. "Oh sit." Madeleine glanced down at him rather scornfully. She was jealous that _he_ didn't have a dumb corset to wear. But then he was a wolf. "Maybe I'll give you a stitch in your side and you can see how it feels."

Dani's tongue lolled out the side of his mouth and he panted, looking up at her. He was undeterred by her obvious declination of him wanting to run.

"Come on, let me rest here!"

Then his ears perked up and he turned away from her, facing west. His lip curled up and a low snarl began to form in his throat. Someone was coming. Madeleine gave a final gasp and continued her race against death to the village.

_

* * *

__Only half a mile more._ Madeleine murmured the words in her mind to the beat of her footfalls. _Only. Half. A. Mile. More. Only- _Her boot caught in one of the cobblestones, throwing her, like it so often did when she was running, to the ground. _I can't run in these stupid things. I need Tom's clothes._ But Thomas' clothes were burned up. She didn't have anything but her own dress. And she was wearing that.

For a moment she pondered stealing a change of boy's clothes, but she quickly rejected the idea. Stealing was wrong. If someone could _give_ her a change of clothes, then _that-_ Edward. She'd ask Edward. Where did Edward say he lived anyway?

Dani stopped momentarily to sniff at a potted plant while Madeleine flew through the town. Edward had told her that he lived on the west side of the outskirts of the village. On the south side. So it wasn't hard for her to find the place.

The hard part was; It didn't look like a house. It looked like an old shed. A large, old shed, that didn't have any windows, or walls. It looked like an old barn, used, but not cared for and definitely not lived in. Maybe she had the wrong place. Edward wouldn't be living here.

She bit her lip, trying to decide, then judged that it wouldn't do any harm to look inside. Madeleine stepped close, then pulled open the door. It squeaked. Bad. There wasn't anyone inside the building, at least that Madeleine could see. There was only straw. Straw to the walls, straw up to the ceiling. There were straw bundles on the west side and a tower of loose straw on the west. No Edward. And no anyone else either. _Okay, well, it went as good as could be expected._

Madeleine was turning around to leave when the abstract bundle of straw caught her eye. It was placed in the front of the haystack, looking as if it was blocking something. Besides, all the other straw bundles were at the other side of the straw barn. What was it doing there?

The twelve year old stepped closer. Dani followed her, trotting into the barn, but once he stepped inside, he began sneezing uncontrollably. It was all the straw dust._ Straw fever, straw dust, straw, straw barn, straw stack, straw bales. Everything's 'straw' around here._ Madeleine sent Dani outside.

Reaching out, Madeleine pulled away the bale. To her surprise, there was a hole where straw would of been. Beyond it, was a room, about 8 feet wide, 10 feet long, and 7 feet high. The roof was a large gray blanket, pinned at the corners. There were also two straw bales, standing on their ends, and supporting the roof so the weight of the all the straw on top wouldn't press it in. The floor was just clean straw, two feet thick.

_This is sweet!_ Madeleine felt like she'd just devoured five jars of honey in one sitting. _A secret hide-out! And no one would of even guessed it was there!_ Crawling through the opening, she glanced around. There was no one there. She had the room all to herself, except, she couldn't stay there. She had a tight schedule. Madeleine sighed and turned to go when the lump caught her eye.

It was half buried in straw and a blanket with something black sticking out from under the cover. She stepped closer. Each of Madeleine's feet sank in the straw, making it rustle nosily. The lump rolled over and then she saw that it was Edward. She could barely see his hair, for the fact that it was the same color as the straw around it, and he had pulled the blanket up to his chin, so only his eyes, or his eyelids, were showing.

Madeleine stared. How could Edward be _here_? He didn't seem like, like a person that would... She didn't know how to finish the sentence in her mind. Edward wasn't rough, or hard, or mean. He wasn't even snappy. He... he... he... _Why did he lie?_ Madeleine took in the sleeping figure. _I wouldn't of been mad at him, or anything like that. _Then she realized that Edward hadn't known she wouldn't of. He hadn't known that she wouldn't of laughed at him and blown him off. She remembered the way he'd held her and the warmth in his embrace. They were so different though. Nobody wanted them together because they were so different.

Madeleine softly let her hand drop down and brush back one of Edward's blond curls. He didn't stir, sleeping soundly. She could see the truth then, the facts about himself that he had hidden. _He's a boy. _Madeleine thought. _With nothing but dreams to keep him going._ Edward didn't have anything. No home, no family, barely a life... Leaning down, Madeleine brushed her lips against Edward's cheek. He was so alone.

Then the urgency of the 'Cat and Mouse' game hit her. Madeleine shook Edward's shoulder, desperately shaking him awake.

_Who- Who the heck is... _Edward yawned. _Here in the middle of the nigh- Maddie? _He scrambled up, standing in front of her, almost like he was trying to block her view of the straw room. It had been his secret. Had been. It wasn't now.

Madeleine saw the confusion in his eyes, the wonder of how the heck she had found out about him. The confounding puzzle of why she was here in the middle of the night. She tried to keep her eyes off his bare chest too, failing frequently.

"What are you doing here." It was more of a statement than a question. Edward frowned as he said it. Eyes waiting for her answer.

Madeleine bit her lip and looked at the ground, "I- I needed a change of clothes."

"Why not wear Tom's?" Edward shot back.

Madeleine could see he was upset about her being there. The straw room had been _his_ place. His home. Madeleine guessed she'd feel the same way about her room if Edward had shown up in the middle of the night and demanded a dress. But then that was ten times weirder then what she was doing. Maybe... "I-" She opened her mouth to tell him everything that had happened, but then she realized she couldn't. She was playing her own game of 'Cat and Mouse' for her own reasons. If Edward was included, it wouldn't be the same. "I just need them."

Edward watched her. Madeleine felt like he was reading her mind, finding out every little piece of information he could. Finally he gave a sigh and relaxed. "I guess you know now, huh."

She nodded.

"They're somewhere in here." Digging around in the straw, Edward pulled out a change of clothes.

They were new, and looked like they'd never been used before. Madeleine gasped, "I couldn't..."

Edward shrugged, "You wanted them. Besides, they're too small for me."

Madeleine gave him a glance, "Sure?"

"Positive. I've never been more confident of anything in all my life."

There was a half-hearted snicker of laughter from Madeleine. "Alright, but if I find out that these fit you later, you're dead meat. Got it?"

"I'm pretty sure they don't," Edward smirked. "But I 'got it'." Still smirking, but more smiling, he left the room, grabbing something from underneath the straw as he went.

* * *

Madeleine changed, then left Edward's room the way she had come. _Ed's clothes fit nicely. _She decided, as she crawled out into the cooler night air. They fitted well, and didn't need remodeling like Thomas' clothes had. Once outside, Madeleine looked around, but didn't see Edward. He had gone outside of the room. _Thank goodness for that._ Madeleine thought, thanking her lucky stars, but he had disappeared. Then she looked down at the bottom of the straw-stack. Edward was sitting there, an old tunic pulled on, eyes twinkling at his own joke. Madeleine snorted and whistled for Dani.

The whistle came out air. They'd had enough whistling duets that Edward knew Madeleine never broke a whistle unless something was bothering her.

"What's going on?" Edward stood up, face turned to stern, behind Madeleine as Dani rushed into the barn, sneezing while he did so. "Something's wrong that you're not telling me."

Madeleine glanced over her shoulder at Edward in surprise. He was one of the only people that had asked her that question and both of the people that had, had known her for all her life. Either Edward was an ace at reading faces, or he had learned so much about her in the time they were together that he just, knew. "Nothing's wrong." She knelt down to rub Dani's head.

Edward was silent, then Madeleine felt his hand on her shoulder, "Maddie, please."

"No!" Madeleine felt the sobs start to rise again. It would be so easy just to tell him. To let the entire story about her family and the clues, and the fire, flood out. It would feel so good to let someone else help bear the pain. Too easy. But she shouldn't. She wouldn't. Madeleine _couldn't._ "No." She shrugged his hand away. "No, Edward. It's nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"You want to cry," He whispered.

Madeleine dropped to her knees and buried her head in Dani's soft fur. "Edward, I said it's nothing."

There was silence. Edward knew when it was possible to push too much. And if Madeleine didn't want to tell him, it was probably the best thing not to press it. For a few minutes, there were quiet, muffled sobs in Dani's fur, then Madeleine pulled herself together, and up. "I'm sorry." She didn't face Edward, but the barn doors. Dani watched them both quizzically, puzzled.

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I can't tell you." Madeleine whispered, barreling thought Edward's words and looking away from him as if he didn't exist. "I want to, I want to so bad. But I can't. That's why."

Edward wondered if he should say something comforting, or just acknowledge her words, letting them flow in one ear and out the other. It turned out he didn't have to decide.

"Well, goodbye." Madeleine walked over to the door, Dani at her heels. "And thank you. I couldn't of run in this thing." She tapped the bundle of dress on her arm. "You helped a lot."

"Wait, wait, wait." Edward jerked himself out of what he was thinking and walked over to her. "Where are you going?"

Madeleine shrugged.

"But- But... Maddie what's going on?"

She didn't reply, only look at him with a large, green eye stare. _Glass_. And for the first time in his life, Edward truly wanted to kiss a girl. No girl had ever been like Madeleine, talked like Madeleine, walked like her, looked like her, and had definitely not acted like her. She was the only girl he'd known that had risked everything to do what _she_ wanted. Madeleine didn't let other's run her life. She ran it herself. And if anyone tried to stop her from running it, she stood up to them. Sometimes she was pushed down, but she had the courage to get back up. Edward had never seen any girl even _think_ about doing that.

Then Madeleine reached up a hand to the locket he had given her. It lingered there for a second, then she broke the string and pressed it into his hand. "I'll have your ribbon," She whispered. "And then we'll always be together."

_Wait, but... What?_

"Edward..." Madeleine glanced over her shoulder. _Like she's afraid of being followed._ Edward thought. "I have to go. But wi-" Her voice broke and she looked at the ground. Dani suddenly left her heels and turned west, snarling. She followed his gaze worriedly. "Wish, hope, and dream, Edward. That's all." Whirling around, she started to run west.

Edward blinked. She was already halfway across the clearing before he grabbed hold of his run-away mind. "Maddie! Wait a second!"

"Can't!" Was the instant retort. It was in the same happy voice Edward had always greeted when he went to work in the fields. "I don't have a second!"

The forest swallowed them up, and Madeleine was gone. Dani too. Edward stared after her for a few seconds, then glanced down at the locket in his hand. Pressing the latch, he popped it open. A portrait had been placed inside of the very girl that had worn it. Closing it with a slight click, Edward shut the barn door. He felt tired, as impossible as it was. Madeleine had only stayed for two minutes at most, and it felt like she'd been there an hour. Edward knew that her words would last longer than that. Her words would last for as long as he lived. They had been spoken by the girl that he lik-_loved._

* * *

M: _The only time you wanted to kiss a girl. Eww._

E: _Ha. In that case, maybe I should stop k_ you._

M: _If you say the word and spill the beans, I will murder you._

E: _Wow. Murder. That seems a little dark for you Mads._

M:_ If you spill ink on me, and spill the basket of beans, I will murder you, and then we'll be even._

E: _Hmm. Would you negotiate that?_

M:_ No. Let's continue this conversation verbally. You're going to make me spill the beans soon._

**

* * *

****Question; Who likes this chapter? I'm just wondering. Everybody probably hates it, but... Just getting a statistic...**

**"Because it had the 'inclination'."**

**-Answer to the Joke from Lapulta**


	12. Heading West

**T39CFan; Actually, the locket doesn't really belong to anybody. If it has, I haven't thought up a person for it to belong to yet. : ) *grins***

* * *

M: _Ahh... Here comes Edward, and everything and- THAT'S MY PEN! I BOUGHT IT!_

E: _Seriously, calm down. I'm just looking at it._

M: _YOU'RE WRITING WITH IT!_

E: _Okay, okay, okay, here. Anyway, I like my quill better. I'm amazed, in fact, that you actually found a 2010 pen you like. I thought you didn't like any of them._

M:_ I just like this one because it's thin and you can grip it. Did you comprehend that? Let's write. It'll make us stop annoying each other for a little while anyway..._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven;**

**Heading West**

_I. Hate. Corsets._ Madeleine said the words to her pounding footsteps. Approximately... _If I kept repeating the same three word pattern, while keeping the same running space and rhythm. Then it would take... Five hundred words to the house._ Madeleine continued on her way. _I. Hate. Corsets... I. Hate. Corsets..._

From the barn at the west side of town, Madeleine had circled around the barn, and started running east again. Staying safely quiet while Luke and the other's passed by in the opposite direction, supposably following her and arguing noisily as they 'did' it. She was almost to the house. _Well, not the house, the barn._ Madeleine turned a bit towards the south.

She had never been in the barn. Most of the Cahills hadn't. Only Gideon, Luke, because he went to town, Thomas, because he worked in the fields, and Edward bothered. When the twelve year old arrived, she realized the disuse of the barn being used only by men. The things that were used, were stacked, placed, or organized neatly, but anything else was covered with dust and tossed into the most unlikely of places.

Madeleine was lucky. Neither Luke, nor Thomas had thought of riding Carrie. She got the fast ride. Telling Dani to sit and stay outside, Madeleine walked over to Carrie's stall. Carrie whinny-ed softly, recognizing her. Thrusting her head over the bars, she waited to be rubbed. Madeleine did as she 'asked', then walked around the barn, seeing the things she would need.

She grabbed an old, forgotten knapsack and stuffed it with some of the dried food left there in cans for winter. Taking a smaller bag, she filled it with hay for Carrie. Placing the smaller bag in the knapsack, she proceeded to fill it with a pocket knife, a tiny hand lantern, a small container of oil, and wicks.

Once she'd saddled Carrie, Madeleine began to stuff the saddlebags. She grabbed a blanket, food, her dress, a large, thick knife that she found on a dusty shelf, a crumpled straw hat, and with some thought, she added Luke's dagger. It didn't seem right to leave it. Madeleine found that it still held some memories of him. Vague, they had been over-written by the very vivid memory about an hour ago. But they were still there. Happy as always.

_Whatever happened to those?_ Madeleine thought as she leaped into the saddle and kicked Carrie's sides gently to get her started. _They were only last night. And it seems like forever. He acts like... like we never knew each other. Like we never knew each other's thoughts. Luke and I were always a team._ But they weren't now. Madeleine pulled Edward's cream tunic closer around her shoulders. With Carrie beginning to canter, the winter wind bit into her as it flew by.

_I loved him._

Madeleine started to sob. The ripping pain came back. It wasn't as bad as it was before, her heart had hardened itself to the assault, but it still hurt. A dull ache that bit at her mind, eating away at it as if it was a piece of cake. She pressed against Carrie, burying her head, and sobs, in her mane. The only sound on the road west was the hoofbeats, pounding away, like Madeleine's footsteps had. _I loved Luke... I loved him... I loved him like no one had ever loved him..._ And yet, in the end, love hadn't saved her, love had destroyed her. She had loved them all too much. So much that she decided to do something about it. And that had forced her to run away. _Running. away... Running away..._

"Why?" Madeleine screamed the word to the empty woods and the rain starting to fall. To the owls that hooted back to her.

_Whoo? Whoo?_

"Luke!" Madeleine clenched Carrie's mane and the reigns so tight that her fingernails dug into her palms. "Luke's _whoo_! I loved him! I loved them all!"

_Whoo? Whoo?_

"You don't understand!" Carrie decided that her young, sobbing rider wasn't going to give her any guidelines. She continued on the road west. "You don't understand anything!"

Then the tears began to fall. Hard. Thick and hard. Madeleine had the watery droplets dripping down her cheeks like rain. She had never cried so hard when she was with Luke. Yet the pain here was worse than the pain there. The pain eased with the tears, but the road had turned into a running, liquidly mass. Madeleine couldn't see at all. Burying her head in Carrie's mane again, Madeleine let her run.

After thirty minutes of hard riding, Carrie slowed when they got near the town. Her rider looked up, and agreed with her horse's caution. Her brothers and sisters were definitely searching the town. Madeleine put Carrie at a good trot, then started on the dirt road straight through all the village houses.

Madeleine was jumpy. And if the rider was jumpy, that made Carrie jumpy too. They jumped at every little sound all the way down the main street. Doing it even with no sign of Luke, or Jane, or Katharine, or Thomas. Once they were on the outskirts, Madeleine dug her heels into Carrie's sides and urged her into a gallop. The rider buried her head in Carrie's mane once more and let the horse do her own thing, relaxed and confident in only one aspect. She was going east. Away from the horror.

* * *

E: _I'm amazed... And I like the owl part. It's interesting... Did you understand him? Can you be like Dr. Dolittle and talk to the owls?_

M: _Hey... Watch it Buster... No, of course I can't. It's a story. And remember, I was twelve, and I was in the depths of despair then._

E: _The Sad-Ass..._

M:_ THAT'S RUDE! Ha. With this pen I can put as many exclamation points as I want! Hahahaha!_

E: _Whoa... Calm down Mads, you're scaring me. Besides, once we're done here, I'm going to put the third chapter on and check all the spelling etc.. And then I'm going to see if Luke reviewed again. He was so mad the last time..._

M: _Sometimes, I just wonder if you actually like getting him mad. Especially when you look like you want to bust his brains out._

E: _He deserves it. Mildly... Mainly for what he did to you/me._

M: _But still... Let's stop writing everything down... Especially if you're going to talk like that. You'll spoil the whole book. Mark my words Edward..._

* * *

**Yeah, sorry, this chapter was pretty short. But I still like it as a chapter. My friend started laughing when the owls were hooting. I don't really see why, but then, my friend and I have a wildly crazy sense of humor. We laugh at anything and everything.**

**Note; Dani is running alongside Carrie. I just don't say that here. I need to put it down.**

**Question; -**

**Darn it, I've run out of questions. I can't think of any for this chapter.**


	13. Burying the Past

**OMG! I'm physic! I know what you're thinking! Two times in two days? OMG! Hahahahaha!**

**Yes. I know. Don't comment. I'm on a random rampage of good fortune. I actually got to go on the computer! Legally! OMG! *faints*******

**Anyway, I'm very happy to say, that yes, I am updating again and this is not just something that I'm randomly putting on here. Although it would be funny to see your face... **

**Let's read.**

* * *

E_: NO! I will NOT fall for that again! I know that looks like a piece of candy but no!_

M: _Oh come on. Seriously. I messed up just that once._

E: _OH! You just HAPPENED to mistake a square of chocolate for... something else._

M: _Yes. I did. You do know that this has absolutely nothing to do with what we're suppose to be writing. We're suppose to be writing about me._

E: _Hey!_

M: _Well, me and you. Sure Ed, you can be included..._

_

* * *

__Six Weeks Later;_

** Chapter Twelve;**

** Burying the Past**

_Gibraltar stinks._ Madeleine thought. _Literally._ She inconspicuously held her breath as she rode past the fisheries. Dani trotted obediently at her heels, but ogled at the heavily laden, fishy-smelling barrels. Once past the smell, Madeleine rode up to an French inn, a few minutes walk away from the sea coast. She dismounted, tied Carrie to the hitching post with some other, five horses, and told Dani to stay. She walked inside the inn.

The innkeeper's wife, who was cooking behind a counter, was a heavyset woman with a beet red face. Drops of sweet dripped off her neck and were absorbed into her clothing. Her dress was different from what Madeleine was use to as well. She had a loose fitting, white tunic that was underneath, and on top of that was a green bodice, tightly lace up, that had a skirt on the bottom. The innkeepstress took one look at the slightly ragged 'boy' and turned away, speaking French in a Spanish accent. "I don't feed beggars."

Madeleine was use to the comments on her scraggly appearance by snappish innkeepers, but the insult still stung. She fought back the argument of reproach and coughed up her rehearsed lines. They almost sounded senseless to her. Like a crunchy sunflower seed, chewed too many times till it was nothing but mush. "I'm not a beggar. I can't pay, but I'm strong. And I can work hard."

The innkeepstress, as Madeleine had figure she was, turned back around to look at her. She scanned her with an eye that said Madeleine was going to get the beating of her life. "Alright. You can work hard? Take off your hat and sit down in the kitchen for a minute. I'll feed you something. And then you can start chopping wood out back."

Madeleine walked behind the counter and behind a wall where a table was. Half of it was covered in dirty dishes and the other half, rotting food gone bad. Most of it was fish. Holding her breath, Madeleine started to clean the table, and carry the food outside, then she sat down.

The innkeepstress walked over to the table and plunked a full bowl of fish stew on her place, then she crossed her arms and glared at Madeleine. "I thought I told you to take off your hat. No hats on here." Then she turned away, muttering to herself. Madeleine caught part of her words. "Wish he was a girl... Need more cooking help here than wood... What use do you have for wood when you can't do anything with it?... Waste of good food too, but I can't resist that face. He has something..."

Madeleine didn't take off her hat, to do it would of revealed her hair, but her green eyes followed the woman like a cat's for a few moments. Then she looked down at her soup. _Fish. What is it here with all the stupid Spanish? Fish! Fish, fish and more fish! You can't turn around without encountering a fish! Fried, roasted, stewed or fresh! What do they do with all their fish? They can't eat all of it!_ Madeleine dipped the spoon into her bowl and tried it. She almost spewed it out all over the table. _RAW! How do they eat _half raw_ fish? This is insane! I can't eat this! _But her stomach growled in protest. It had been yesterday morning since she'd left the French borderline and had her last full meal. Scattered patches of berries had filled her spaces along the way. She was hungry. Very. Yet _raw._ _Raw_ fish? Well, half raw. _Half raw fish?_ She gave a distasteful glance at the soup and dipped her spoon in again.

Madeleine wondered how in the name of Gideon and Olivia Cahill, could this be a French inn. French inns were suppose to be nice and airy. The food was delicious and the inn's mistress was warm, mother-like and rosy. Besides, they spoke French, not French-mostly-Spanish.

_Well. _She tried to think of the good things so she wouldn't dwell on the bad. _Luke won't ever look for me here. I'll be safe. For a little while at least._

"I told you to take off your hat!" Madeleine jumped at the baritone French/Spanish voice that blared out over her. Her head shot up. The innkeepstress stood next to the table, but with her hands on her hips and leaning towards Madeleine like she was doing, she looked like she was standing over the girl. "Hat on, no food. Hat off, I'll feed you and give you a place to stay."

Madeleine's hands went to her hat, fingers brushing the rim. She was unsure what to do. Her stomach growled at her, resenting any chance of passing up food. And by that reason alone, she almost chose to take her hat off. But she stopped herself. To take her hat off would reveal her identity, and to do that to the wrong person would be disastrous. One innkeeper before had tossed her out entirely just because she had Edward's clothes on. She needed to eat, but she couldn't take off her hat.

Eventually though, the stomach pains won out and Madeleine took off her hat, then let down her hair. She bowed her head, waiting for the scornful words or heavy slap that would probably follow. They never came.

* * *

The innkeepstress could only stare. _A girl? My laud..._ She tried to think of something to say, but nothing came out. The woman wasn't use to girls, most of the people that came in were men, traveling people, or bachelors that could afford to go out to eat. She didn't have to time to plan a party of women, she had enough trouble cooking decent food that was edible. But then, here was a girl. An answer to all her prayers. And how had she treated her? With scoldings and hard work for a boy.

* * *

Madeleine's eyes couldn't help themselves. They rolled up a little to look at the woman. She had her hand over her mouth and Madeleine could just hear the murmurings, of a Spanish prayer. "I-I'll still work." She whispered up. "Whatever you want me to do."

"Oh laud." The woman stepped over and collapsed into a chair across from Madeleine. She buried her head in her hands. "What a blessing."

_Blessing...?_ Madeleine's mind hit a blank. What was the woman talking about?

"I need help." The innkeepstress explained, head still down, a bit of a country accent becoming more noted. "I need help so bad. I can't cook a mite. Good cooking I mean, where they make those little fancy tarts and creamed sugar. My Father could do those, but he died so long ago and this entire place was passed to me. I ain't never wanted to cook. I wanted to do anything but. So I never learnt. But now the only people that come, come out of pity and don't want me to go out of business. If you can help me, oh laud, I'd be mighty grateful. Tell me you know how to cook girl. You do know how? And I is sorry bout my temper. It flares up something awful when I is in a bad mood. And I always gets in these bad moods when I can't cook any. You do know how to cook. Right girl?"

It was Madeleine's turn to stare. Cook? She didn't cook. She plowed. Then she glanced at the half raw fish stew and the innkeepstress' predicament became clear. She laid a hand on the woman's arm. "What's your name?"

"Michie-" Came the mumbled answer. "My name's Michelle, but I like Michie better."

"I'm Madeleine," The twelve year old whispered. "Call me Maddie. I'll help. I don't know how long I can stay, but as long as I'm here. I'll help you."

"Oh laud." Michelle lifted her head and Madeleine could clearly see the tears running down her cheeks along with the happy laughter. "Oh laud, you're a blessing, girl."

"I don't know about that. I never learned how to cook either, except what I learned in the past few weeks. But my sister taught me, and if I know anyone who's a good cook, it's my sister." Madeleine stood up to go and grab her things and bring them inside, but the room started to spin again and she desperately grabbed onto the table.

"Are you alright- what did you say your name was?"

"I-I'm fine." But the room started to pitch and toss. Madeleine's stomach flipped over and over. She couldn't make it stop even long enough to sip some of the soup on the table. "I'm hungry." She finally whispered, shutting her eyes tight enough as if she could block out the spinning room. "I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. Everything's... spinning..." She slumped back down into the chair.

"Laud, don't die on me now."

Madeleine felt it as two strong hands lifted her up and started carrying her. Then everything grew black.

_

* * *

__Where- where am I? What happened?_ For the first time though, in a week, Madeleine stomach wasn't screaming at her for food. Someone must of fed her.

"Hey there girl, you up now?"

Michelle walked into the room, not exactly walking, more like a swinging-walk, with power, holding a tray laden with something that Madeleine couldn't see. She could smell it though. Fish. "I'm up. How..." She tried to approached a touchy subject off handedly, failing. "How long was I out? I hope I wasn't a bother."

Michelle laughed. Her laugh was a bit like Madeleine's when she was in a good mood. "You weren't a bother at all, except for the fact that I had to close early. It didn't hurt business though. No one comes anyway." She didn't notice when Madeleine's mouth twitched. "Alright, open up. You get the only thing I can cook. Fish on de' platter. Enjoy."

Madeleine stared at her, "You're kidding right?"

"Not a bit. Let's see, I can do Tuna, Salmon, Mackrel, but those are expensive, those little shiny fish, and the little crunchy ones that are chewy on the inside. Pretty much any kind of fish. It just has to taste good. Once again, I can not cook anything else."

She got an unbelieving stare. "Nothing else?"

"Nothing else. Open up."

Madeleine obliged her and opened her mouth. A bit of cracker was popped into it with fish, cheese, a slice of celery and carrot on the top. To her surprise it was relatively crunchy with a mild squishy texture. It was good. "And you say that these are the only things that you can cook?" She thought for a moment, mouth open and food showing, rephrasing her sentence. "That you can make?"

"Yup. Another one or are you done?"

"No, I'll take another." Madeleine reached up to the tray by herself and grabbed two. "These are good. I wouldn't be surprised if just these things kept your place going."

Michelle thought for a minute, "I have noticed people buying more of them, but they don't cost much. I can't make a big profit off of them."

The twelve year old's eyes sparkled and she pushed herself up and scrambled out of bed. No one would of guessed that just one night ago, she had been running on fumes, and that she'd had to be force fed. Madeleine grabbed two more fish crackers off the tray. "Then let's go make something that you can make a profit on."

* * *

"Try making the cut just around the edges." Madeleine watched Michelle's hand slice the excess dough off of the pie's crust. "You want it to look a bit classy. Classy with style."

"Child," Michelle still didn't call Madeleine by her name. "You come up with the fanciest words and I know nothing of what they mean. Classy, how's that?"

"Fancy." Madeleine shrugged. "You did say that Dani was in the barn with Carrie didn't you, safe."

"That wolf was locked in the hayloft so tight not even a field mouse could of gotten out. He's safe. If you want, I'll watch the shop and you can go and get him."

"You sure?..." Madeleine's hand went to the back of her apron though, waiting to untie the apron's knot. "I mean, can I? You told me the way."

"Child, I've been living in this place for seventeen years. I'm sure I'll be safe. Run along now."

Madeleine's apron was off faster than Luke could throw a dagger. Within seconds, she was out of the resturant and speeding through the cobblestone streets, dodging carts and pedestrians that tossed curses at her. After wearing Edward's clothes for weeks, Madeleine had a hard time running in one of Michelle's hand-me-down tunics and bodice. They were too tight and squeezed the breath out of her but she raced on, plowing for Gibraltar's town barn before someone else got there. If she didn't and they went to go get a fork-full of hay they'd get a furry surprise.

She arrived, out of breath and panting just as a farmer opened the barn doors, pitchfork in hand. Her eyes widened, "No!" Running towards the door, she dipped inside before it shut and raced to the other end of the barn. The farmer was almost to the hayloft door. "No! Wait!" She slid and stumbled the rest of the steps to the door, then threw herself in front of it. Dani was safe. "Please, wait a second."

Dani heard her voice and threw himself against the barn door, whining in excitement. The farmer heard it, and aimed his pitchfork, looking beyond Madeleine. "Hey, I don't know who you are girl, but there's a wolf in there." It was spoken in Spanish, so Madeleine couldn't understand all of it, but she caught 'lobo'. Wolf.

"No! No! He- he's my friend." The man couldn't understand her French, but he sensed her desperation and her posture again the door. He motioned her to open it, keeping his pitchfork aimed.

Madeleine tugged desperately at the handle. Michelle hadn't been lying when she'd said that Dani couldn't get out. Nor could any person or wolf that would of wanted to. Pulling again, and grunting with the effort, she flew backwards as the door swung quickly open. A wolf tumbled into her arms, licking her face and crawling all over her. "Dani stop!" She suddenly burst out laughing. He wasn't going to get killed after all.

Dani paused in mid-lick and a snarl formed low in his throat. He wasn't growling at Madeleine, but at the farmer behind her, who still had his pitchfork. Dani sprang. "No!" The wolf's mistress scrambled up onto one knee the best she could. "Dani, down! Sit!" Dani halted, right in the middle of his spring, and dropped with a thump back down to the ground. He glanced over his shoulder to see if that was what she really wanted. _That farmer's never going to hurt you. He'll make really nice meat though, cooked._ "No. Sit." He sat. Obedient to orders, like always.

Madeleine looked back up at the farmer to see his reaction. He had put down the pitchfork and was smiling at the two of them. He had just happened to buy a small terrier puppy for his own daughter and the pair had made a team, exactly like Madeleine and Dani had. He understood. "Can I pet him?" He made a patting motion with his hands so Madeleine would know what he wanted.

She nodded and rested a hand on Dani to quiet him.

* * *

Five minutes later, although not a legible sentence had passed between them, Madeleine and the farmer were good friends. The twelve year old made her way back to Michelle's resturant and proceeded to help her with all the dishes that that the 'cook' couldn't make. A week slid by, Madeleine barely noticing. Then another, and another, till it had been four weeks since she had run away.

Madeleine had almost forgot about her being on the run, and her main purpose of going to Gibraltar in the first place. None of her brothers or sister had shown up, and in the meantime, she was kept busy. She found she loved to sing, and when the other people in town found out about it too, they taught her all the songs they knew. Madeleine had turned into a walking record player.

She had grown to love the tiny resturant where Michelle lived and the busy, fishy town with so many people living and relying on the sea. But she didn't forget why she was there with them, or why she had come.

_

* * *

__Five Weeks Later;_

_... Then the fox and his wife, without any strife,_

_Cut up the goose with a fork and a knife;_

_They never ate such a dinner in their life_

_And the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o,_

_They never ate such a dinner in their life_

_and the little ones chewed on the bones-o._

There was sufficient clapping as Madeleine finished the song and popped the last of the apple tart trays in the oven. "Let's hear _The Ode of the Headless Horseman_ again." Michelle appeared next to Madeleine, cleaning out a coffee tin.

"But I just sang that one!"

"You sang it before _The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night_, and before _Fishing in the Rain_."

"Still!" Madeleine turned away to begin rolling out bread dough. "That was just two songs ago!"

"Sing it! Sing it!" The crowd in the resturant started to chant and Madeleine sighed. She knew there would be no peace for her unless she sang it.

"Alright, quiet down."

The crowd was instantly hushed as a soft, sweet voice began to sing. Madeleine sang the ode in time to the rolling of her rolling pin. Keeping up the gentle melody that had made her 'famous' in the town.

"Beautiful," Michelle was perched on the edge of the counter, wiping tears out of her eyes when Madeleine was done, although the song was only five stanzas. "Just beautiful."

Madeleine snorted, laughing, "You say that every time." But she was pleased with the praise, although not showing it. Yet her mind was on other things as she started singing again.

_I'll have to leave the dress here._ Madeleine gently laid Michelle's dress on her bed. She knew that, with the rumors in the resturant of two new men in town, she had to go. She had been pressing her time limit as it was. It would be suicide to stay any longer.

* * *

"And just where do you think you're going?" Michelle had her hands on her hips, standing in the doorway of the resturant. Her full frame filled out the entrance and she looked demanding. Madeleine could see curious faces of tea-drinkers trying to see what she was looking at. She saw that they couldn't see her. Luckily. They'd be so mad.

Both Dani and Madeleine looked up at Michelle. Madeleine was dressed in Edward's clothes again, ready to start running and living her life of looking over her shoulder. "I have to go." As she talked, she edged towards Carrie, tied to the hitching post.

"Where? May I ask?"

Madeleine shrugged. "Nowhere. Anywhere. Everywhere I want to go."

Michelle stared at her, perplexed. Even being with Madeleine for weeks hadn't allowed her to understand her any better. The twelve year old had managed to keep her private past hidden well. There was only one song she use to sing. An itch starting scratching at Michelle's brain. That one song... "Where are you going to sleep? And there's bandits's out at dusk."

Another shrug. "They won't catch me."

"But there's not another inn for miles if you're going back through Spain!" Michelle was turning desperate. She would miss Madeleine if she left.

"The ground's always there."

"But Maddie..." Michelle's voice trailed off as she ran out of protests.

"I'll come back," Madeleine calmed her fears. "I promise. It may be a long time from now, but I will. I couldn't leave this place for good." The twelve year old smiled sweetly up at the inn.

"Still," Michelle sighed, dropping her hands from her hips. "Why are you wearing... _those_." She flicked a finger at Edward's tunic.

Madeleine smiled, "You couldn't exactly expect me to run in a dress could you?"

"Alright, then come here and let me put your hair up." Michelle motioned to Madeleine's hat. The run-away hadn't bothered to hide her hair under it.

"It's dark, no one will know the difference."

They stared at each other for a minute, taking it in. Neither of them had realized that they it might be so hard to say good bye. People on the road passed in and out of Madeleine's life, like a stream of water. But she had never made a connection. Never felt to attached to one place where an innkeepstress had cared for her and wanted her company. She knew there would be another hole in her heart to conqueror. The same as there was one for Gideon, one for Olivia, one for Luke, one for Katherine, one for Jane and one for every other person she'd loved. Now there was going to be one for Michelle and her inn. "Don't worry, I'll come back. It may seem like forever, but I'll come back. I promise."

Madeleine leaped onto Carrie's back and turned her towards the sea just as the sun set. Dusk settled in. "I promise."

Michelle waved as the younger girl rode off. She would miss her.

* * *

Madeleine rode up to the sea coast. The large mountain on the spit of land, named Gibraltar, the very one that had given the town it's name, loomed behind her. She had to work quickly. Dismounting, she walked to the very edge of the sea and then took fifty medium sized paces back towards the mountain. She dropped to her knees.

The twelve year old started to scoop out the dirt, digging a hole just large enough to fit a small box into. A box was, in fact, the object that went into it. Madeleine stood up and pulled Luke's dagger out of Carrie's saddlebag. She held it for a moment, fingering the sharp blade and blood red L engraved on the ivory handle. Her brother had spent so much time just thinking about it, fitting the blade and handle together perfectly. She remembered the day that he'd showed it to her. He'd been so proud. They'd knelt together on his bed, studying it, looking over it for every little detail. Any flaw. There wasn't one.

The knife itself, had been perfect.

Luke had never used it. He'd wondered at it, pondered it, but had never used it. It had been his special item, the one he'd always kept close. Madeleine ran her finger on the silver blade, careful not to cut herself. The knife held so many memories that it almost seemed rare. There wasn't anything rare about it, a million people in the world probably had the same knife, different, but still the same. Luke's held Madeleine's memories. The memories were the rare items, more precious than gold or silver or anything on earth. It held the good times.

Madeleine felt the L and she heard Luke's laugh echo in her ears. It was short, but she still heard it. All the laughs they had laughed together... Gone. It wasn't the same Luke. No one was the same.

The girl placed the knife into the cotton lined box and gently shut the lid with a click. She then knelt down and placed the box into the hole she'd dug. She covered it with earth.

The twelve year old grabbed Carrie's reigns as she stood, Dani beside her. The stars and moon twinkled above, lighting the sea and earth. _It's my birthday._ Her birthday was something that Madeleine had forgotten entirely about. She was born on the night of the full moon, the 17th of November. Olivia had always brought her out and shown her the constellations, pointing each one out by name. The stars were exactly the same, shining bright as could be, only the world beneath them changed.

Olivia had always told Madeleine that the stars were the people of the past. When one person died, a new little star was born. The light that had been a person, becoming one twinkling tiny dot, watching over everyone in the world. Madeleine wondered if Olivia and Gideon were watching her then, making sure she was safe from all harm. She wondered, vaguely, in the back of her mind, if they would swoop down and save her if she needed it. They wouldn't let Luke kill her, would they? Or, maybe there were just stars there, little balls of gas and fire like the scientists said. She personally preferred the idea of the stars being her Mother and Father.

_Scorpion, The Big Dipper, The Little Dipper, The North Star, Orion, The Big Bear, Leo the Lion._ Madeleine knew them all. The girl could close her eyes and see all the stars in place, name all the constellations without missing one. Then when Olivia got to Ursa Minor, The Little Bear, she would say, _'That's your constellation. That's your name.'_ Madeleine never understood it. Minor, Madeleine. How was that ever the start of her name? How could Minor ever be a part of Madeleine? Madeleine had puzzled over the problem for weeks sometimes, but could never come up with an answer. It was too confusing. When she'd asked Olivia, her Mother had never said. But just smiled in a secret way. _Someday you'll know. _But how soon? Was she going to die not knowing what in the world her name meant?

The just-turned thirteen year old walked around to the other side of Carrie and leaped into the saddle. Giving a whistle to Dani, she rode off into the dark.

_

* * *

__Hiyah everyone. Sorry. Edward just got disgusted, left, and went on the computer because this entire chapter is about me. Honestly, I don't know why, but that's what he says. So. Pardon his inexcusable rude comments and actions and just continue reading this like nothing happened. Well, maybe I can't say inexcusable... He's putting the third chapter on right now. Jane's probably going to blow a gasket. I don't think either Edward, or I use good grammar or language... Poor Jane..._

_-MC (And EC technically, he's suppose to be with me and be my co-author and editor, but he's not. So I'm not going to put his name in here... Watch him blow up when he reads this...)_

**

* * *

****Wow. Sorry, long chapter again. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's within readable distance though. Right? If not, tell me and I'll shorten it.**

**Question; Who knows the full 'The Fox Went out on a Summer's Night' song? If you don't, I suggest you look it up. It's sort of funny. It's one of my favorites. Does everyone get Madeleine's birthday? Who understands what Madeleine's constellation means? You'll obviously get it though if you've read the prolog. Which, of course you have. How did you like the beginning part with fishy Gibraltar? GO HOLD-YOUR-NOSE-BILLY! (Please tell me that you've read 'The Whipping Boy'...)**

**~L~**


	14. An Old Friend

**PurpleTea88; Uhh... Sort of. I'm trying my best. Whenever I go to type the word Katherine, now I'm thinking about, is it a E or an A? Dumb me. One thing that I forgot to mention to you though, was; Have you ever realized, that if Madeleine was born AFTER the family split apart, then she and Jane would have a approximante FIFTEEN YEAR speration? Did Rick even think that through? What is up with that? That's the main reason I wrote this fic. This is MY idea of why the family split apart. (Actually, if you ask me, it's better than Ricks. But then it's my story. Everyone would say that their story is better. Wouldn't they?) Well, that's what I wanted to say. Sort of...**

**Lil'Sunshine; What don't you get? I'll explain if possible.**

**~L~**

* * *

E: _Oh, get this. When I put the last chapter on, Luke got so mad... He was literally typing all caps for the entire review. I should of put a hidden camera in his room. Hmm... Maybe I'll do that next time. It'll be interesting._

M:_ Leave off. Just because of... everything, doesn't mean you have to torture him and put in the worst comments about him._

E: _Deserves it..._

M: _Alright. I made apple pie today. And if you keep going on like that I'm not going to let you have even a nibble. And you're going to sit there in your seat and watch Wade and I eat every single, little, bite._

E: _Okay, okay, okay... Fine. I'll be good. But I should still put a camera in there..._

M: _Edward, this chapter has got something about you in it. In fact. It's got a lot about you in it. So start writing._

* * *

_Five Years Later, Early November;_

**Chapter Thirteen; An Old Friend**

_Why was I such an idiot?_ Madeleine Cahill pushed off a vendor offering her figs and honey. She didn't have time. _Of course Luke was going to be there! Girls wanted with black hair and green eyes! My toes!_ The footsteps of her pursuer faded away and she took the opportunity to slow down.

Madeleine didn't stop, to do that would of been suicide, but she jogged down the street in a way Dani had taught her. When a wolf trotted, they swung their legs back and forth like pendulums, using the momentum that gravity provided. The seventeen year old took up ground so fast people's heads turned to stare. She ignored them and let her automatic mentality take over where she was going. Her actual mind focused on not tripping over the hem of her dress.

"Hey miss! Look out!"

As it happened, the onlooker who yelled, was off to the side. Madeleine's head instantly swivled up to him, not looking in front. She hit the boy that was standing, waiting to cross the street head-on. "Hey! What the-"

Two heads hit the cobblestones equally hard.

Madeleine saw stars for a moment, then bounced back up and took a step forward to start running again. "Hey! Wait a second!" The girl looked down at the boy as everyone around them got back to their normal occupancies. The boy's face looked strangely familiar to Madeleine, so she paused for another second. Then she reached down and offered the boy her hand, tugging him, as she did so, into a deserted alleyway close by. She hoped her pursuer wouldn't think to look in alleyways.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

Madeleine resisted the urge to slap him, hard. She didn't have time for stupid boys that tried to get her attention, only... The seventeen year old glanced at the boy who was staring at her. He had blond hair, the color of straw when it was dry, and sky blue eyes that looked inside her and made her stomach sink. She decided, although she could of been nice, on her usual tardy reply to his question. "I don't know. You tell me."

His eyes opened wide, "_Madeleine?_"

Her assumption was correct. _But here? Of all the impeccable timing..._ Madeleine nodded slowly, "What are you doing here?"

The nineteen year old Edward in front of her shrugged. "Nothing important. Looking for work, same as always. But what are you doing? The last time I saw you, you were waking me up out of a good night's sleep."

Madeleine glanced over her shoulder. "Running, like always. I was stupid enough to fall for an advertisement. I don't even have time to be talking right now. I need to go."

"Where to?"

"Nowhere. Everywhere. Anywhere I want to be."

Edward looked at her with a confused expression on his face for a minute, then nodded slowly. Madeleine could see he didn't understand. Almost nobody understood her when she said that, except someone that had heard her story. And she didn't like telling it to random people. She didn't like gathering sympathy. It made her self conscious, which was something she didn't like to feel. She didn't have any time for it.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Nice to see you, but I have to go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Edward grabbed her arm before she could run off. "I'm not getting a smash on cobblestones for no reason at all, and then my best friend runs away without telling me why."

Best friend? The girl suddenly found herself confused as well. "I have to go Ed, now." Madeleine tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but his iron grip didn't loosen.

"I'll let you go when you explain all this to me. I've got the feeling that something more is going on than what's happening. You were running the last time I saw you, weren't you. You kept looking over your shoulder like you were being followed. I want to know what's going on."

Madeleine could only stare at him. He knew more than he was letting on. She could feel it. And everything was piling up on her like it had the last time, urging her to tell him. But she couldn't. "It's a long story," She whispered, looking at her boots. They were scratched and torn, reason of, being that they were the only pair she had.

"I like long stories." His hand on her didn't even soften. He knew what tricks Madeleine would be up to if he put down his guard.

"Edward _please_," Madeleine was starting to grow desperate. She could feel her pursuer right around the corner, waiting for her to show herself. Then he would pounce. "You have to let me go." Then she suddenly saw Luke. He was standing across the street, eyes staring directly into the alleyway. He saw her. He didn't recognize her, but he saw a girl that could be his sister.

She was caught.

Madeleine knew that if she tried to run, Luke would know instantly it _was_ her, and she'd be dead. She also had the brains to know that he would leave no stone unturned in his search. Hiding in a trash can wouldn't work like it had before. She had to do something that would say 'it's not her', but she couldn't think of anything. "Maddie, tell me what's going on."

"Edward," She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, meeting Edward's eyes. "If you value your life, and mine, you would let me go."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

Madeleine's mind whirled frantically for a moment, digging into an enormous basket of ideas stored in her brain. Then she hit one. It was perfect, if it would work. "I know this is completely crazy," She hissed to Edward, looking into his eyes again. "But you have to trust me. I need you to kiss me."

"_What?_!"

Edward eyes turned more confused than they could already be called. "Please, I know it's crazy, but if you want to live, and you want me to live, then you _have_ to do it." Desperate Madeleine got a dead-pan look. "Please!" She could see Luke across the street. He was starting to cross it, and he had his hand on his hip, fingering his dagger.

_Desperate times call for desperate measures._

Madeleine threw her arms around Edward's neck; one of his hands still connected to her wrist, leaned up on the tops of her toes, and pressed her lips against his.

Two fire-crackers went off at the same time. One begged Madeleine to pull away, the side of her that had enough sense left to know that kissing was dumb, stupid, and a waste of precious time. But her other side held her there, a warm, tingly feeling starting from her toes and reaching all the way to the tips of her fingers. _Well, there always has to be a first kiss._ Edward's hand softly let her loose and slid down to join his other hand around her waist, holding her tightly against him. Madeleine wondered, in the back of her mind, whether anything would ever more wonderful than a first kiss. There couldn't be. It was too amazing, too mind-boggling.

She could feel the way everything fit together like a forgotten puzzle piece and the way she knew life would never be the same. Life could never be the same, and it was because she loved him. All the feelings she had locked up tight when she was twelve, broke loose from their bindings and flooded her.

_This is madness!_ Madeleine finally tried to yell to herself. _I've only been with him for five minutes!_ And yet she had never been so sure of anything in her life.

_Does he love me?_

That broke the spell. Madeleine gently let Edward loose, but she leaned against him, head facing towards the street. She was unwilling to let that one perfect moment go. The one time in five years that she had been truly happy. Then she edged out of Edward's grasp and looked up and down the paved main road. Madeleine could just barely see Luke's retreating back. He obviously thought that his sister wouldn't be kissing random boys in alleyways. Madeleine smiled, _plan perfect._

"Maddie," Madeleine felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder. "Please, I want to know."

For a second the girl wanted to tell him what had happened right then and there, but she resisted the urge. It wasn't that wise with passerbys starting to glance curiously at the two of them. "Alright," She turned around and looked up into his blue eyes. She was glad that _something_ had stayed the same. "Do you want to know? Really, really want to know why everything is the way it is?"

Edward hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"You know where _The Center of Paris Caf__é_ is, right?" Another nod. "Meet me there at 8:45 tonight." Madeleine took a step away, as if to leave, then turned back. "And thank you for the kiss." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It saved my life."

And Madeleine Cahill was gone, leaving Edward more confused than when he'd met her.

* * *

Edward counted all the good things that had happened to him that day since he was feeling so happy. He had found Madeleine, she had agreed to tell him why she was running, and he had gotten his first kiss. After that, he started counting the innumerable other things during the day that could be counted as happy moments.

Then he decided to count his un-happy moments. He almost laughed at the fact that in un-happy, 'happy' was still in the word. He added it to his 'happy' moment list. He was broke, he didn't have a job, he had walked all over town and there wasn't a chore to be found. Then he started counting the _very_ innumerable other things that could be counted as un-happy.

Edward chose to feel happy since there was almost no way he couldn't be. Then the carefree, broke, nineteen year old strolled out of the alleyway to look for a job. He was whistling.

* * *

M: _Ha. He was whistling. You always whistle. We both always whistle. People won't get a word you're talking about if they think you don't always whistle... And then it turns out that you do whistle... And it sounds like you don't whistle... It doesn't make any sense. I'm confusing myself talking about it._

E: _I didn't whistle. Not then. Well... Not a lot._

M: _Why don't you explain that to everybody then so you don't leave readers hanging?_

E: _Because I don't want everyone knowing everything about that five years of my life._

M: _And why?..._

E: _Do you know the phrase TMI?_

M: _No._

E: _Oh gosh, I forgot. Texting delinquent. Not even for something like Twitter?_

M: _Ahh... What's Twitter? Should I know about it?_

E: _I'M STUCK WITH A PERSON THAT KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE WONDERS OF THE ELECTRONIC AGE!~~~~_

M: _Ha. The quill broke. I told you if you write that hard that it's going to break someday. What's Twitter? Here, you can borrow my pen. Well, actually, tell me later. For now, start writing._

* * *

_Late!_ Edward was mortified. He hadn't intended to spend till_ 8:30_ looking at clocks. And it wasn't his fault that he didn't know how to ask for an apprenticeship! The watchmaker's apprentice. Edward almost scowled. What junk. Who needed to learn how to make clocks anyway? Not him. He raced through the empty streets, turning left and right, at periodic intervals. The Café seemed farther away than it'd ever been. How had he been so stupid?

_Now Maddie's going to be mad, and then I'm going to get yelled at, and then she's never going to tell me what-the-heck is going on. Why did I look at those stupid clocks?_ Edward desperately wished that he had thought of some different idea of occupation than clock-working. Being a blacksmith perhaps. Only, being a blacksmith required strength and an adversity to heat. Edward had neither, and he knew it.

As he ran, Edward felt a heavy drop of water fall on the top of his head. He shook it off and looked up into the face of dark, threatening clouds that filled the sky. There was an enormous clap of thunder, and then the rain poured down in buckets.

_Soaked as well as late. That's just awesome._ Edward didn't know whether to feel disgusted with himself, sympathetic, or be as sarcastic as possible. He chose to be sarcastic since it was what he was in the mood for. Edward was lucky that the café was only another block, but even then, when he walked in the door his hair and clothes had been sufficiently dampened.

The first thing Edward took in, was that he was the only one in the room. The second thing, was that he was the only one, except the cook, and Madeleine, the latter, who was pacing in front of the fire, not noticing him. The wet Edward could only stare.

In five years, lots of things had changed. Edward noticed that Madeleine had grown so much that the top of her head almost hit his nose. She was more graceful too, even when she was pacing. The fire on the left side of the room crackled brightly. Madeleine ignored it, continuing to walk back and forth. She had left her cloak's hood down, and Edward could see her hair. It was still the same, glossy black and waist length, but it had grown curls in it. It wasn't frizzy, or a crazy poofy look, but it just had soft waves, tucking gently under at the bottom. Her traveling cloak's wool gray cloth brushed the floor, Madeleine's dress pressing it out in a round form. No girl in a ballroom could ever of looked so pretty.

Edward's mind was empty except for one thing. _How did she get so pretty?_ And then; _I wonder if she has a guy..._

"Do you need anything?"

Edward was jerked out of his thoughts by the rough French voice. He jumped, "No, I'm with her." Abstractly, he saw that there was an uneaten plate of spaghetti on one of the tables. It looked like someone had, had a fun time seeing how many times they could make the noodles go around the plate, leaving red trails. Connected with Madeleine's pacing, it wasn't hard to draw the line that showed it was her plate.

Madeleine noticed him for the first time, smiled, and gave a little wave with her right hand. "I'll close up Lily, don't worry. And I'll do my time tomorrow too." Edward wondered what her 'doing time' meant. Was a jail in the proceedings?

The innkeepstress seemed to trust Madeleine, and she nodded behind the counter. "There's a plate of cookies up here if you want any. They'll be stale tomorrow, so if you finish them off, you'll be doing me a favor. Kill the fire when you leave too." She took off her apron and left to go down the hall to her room. Madeleine and Edward were alone.

"Sit down," Madeleine gestured to the chair facing the inn's door and opposite of her own. "And you can have the spaghetti if you want to. I can't eat."

Edward shook his head, "No thanks, it's yours."

Madeleine rolled her eyes. "Did you hear me? I said I can't eat it. And if I'm not going to eat it, and you don't eat it, then someone's going to have to throw it out. And it's a sin to waste good food. Take it. You'll be doing me a favor. Plus her cookies up there." The seventeen year old pushed her plate over to Edward, who took it gratefully.

"Thanks. Now, why are we here? Or, maybe I should remind you."

"No need," Madeleine stared vacantly into the fire. "I know exactly why."

Edward ate and waited, but Madeleine didn't say anything. She only stared into the distance vacantly, taking no notice of him. "Well..."

"What do you know?" Madeleine finally turned to him. Edward could see the pain in her eyes that she was trying to hide. "About that night."

'What night?' Edward was tempted to say, since Madeleine didn't specify. But he figured that she wasn't in the mood for puns, or jokes. "I left the next morning and there was nothing. Only ashes. I ran to the village and got a few people to help me, but there was nothing to do. Luke, and all the others were gone. I searched the town for you, but I didn't find anyone. It was like all of you had disappeared off the face of the earth. We rummaged through the house, but everything was pretty much burned. And then we found Gideon and Olivia." Madeleine suddenly choked back a sob and Edward paused.

"No, go on."

"I think they were in the room next to yours. Gideon was by his desk, and Olivia was at the bookshelf trying to grab something. I think the roof collapsed, and... it got them both."

Madeleine placed her arms on the table and laid her head on her arms. Edward paused again, unsure of continuing. "N-No, I-I need to know what happened."

Edward bit his lip, eyebrows turning down into a frown. "Madeleine, you said _you'd_ tell _me _what happened then, I don't know who set it or... anything else."

A few locks of hair fell down to the table, covering the part of her face that could be seen. "E-Edward," Madeleine managed to choke out. "W-What did t-t-the villagers say about h-how the fire st-st-started?"

"Nobody knew," Edward's voice dropped down to a whisper. His hand reached out and he slid it over the table gently, brushing one of Madeleine's ebony locks away from her face. "There were a lot of guesses, and a lot of suggestions, but no one had been there and no one could tell. I didn't connect you with running and the fire in the beginning, but I guess it has something to do with that. Doesn't it?"

Madeleine mumbled something.

"What?"

"I-I set it." Edward could only stare at her. _Madeleine?_ But how in the world? She had to be talking about something else. "I-I did it Edward. I o-only meant to burn Father's lab, b-but it spread, and then..." Her voice trailed off. Edward didn't know what to say. Madeleine was claiming that she had set the fire. But if she'd set it...

"So you're a murderer." Edward whispered softly.

Madeleine started to sob, without tears, like usual. "I-I didn't mean to, Edward, I-I swear. Please, don't blame me."

Edward bit his lip and leaned over the table, resting his chin on his own arms. "I know you didn't mean to. I understand."

"No." The girl pushed off of the table suddenly and stood up. Her eyes were red and puffy. "No Edward, you don't understand. You'll never understand. No one, in all the world will ever, understand what I'm going though. They'll look," Her voice caught, "And they'll stare, and they'll ask. But none of them are going to understand it. Their life will never come close to being what mine is. Your life, will never be _anything_ like mine is. You will _never understand _Edward. So don't say you do."

Madeleine flipped her cloak's hood over her curls and turned, starting to walk away. She was almost to the door when Edward's mind caught up with what she was doing. She was running away from him -and everyone else- just as much as she was running away from Luke, and Katharine, and Jane, and Thomas. She had turned her mind to shutting everyone, and everything out. She didn't want to risk having, whatever had happened to her, happen again. The only thing was, that Edward, although he didn't know what had happened to her, knew that he would never, ever hurt her if he didn't have to.

"Maddie wait!" But she was already outside. Edward glanced out the windows and he could see her graceful figure racing east through the rain, getting soaked. Something began to itch at his mind. Madeleine didn't want to tell him what had happened. _But... _His mind whirled. _What did happen?_

* * *

Edward stared vacantly at the fire's glowing embers. He hadn't moved from where he'd been sitting since Madeleine had left two hours ago. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave, since he had no place to go, but with Madeleine gone, the room seemed empty, and almost angry at him. Edward didn't even know what had gotten her so upset in the first place. _She made it sound like I didn't even want to understand._ Dejected thoughts started to fill his mind, clouding the excitement he'd felt just a few hours ago. _Madeleine, sitting out there. Somewhere..._ He knew she would be safe though. If anyone could last through a winter storm without a roof over their head, it was Madeleine.

He started to think about all the places he'd been in Paris, and where, if she was still in the town, Madeleine would be. Then it hit him. He was stunned for a moment, sitting there wondering why he hadn't thought of it before. She had to be at that church. The really big one sitting on top of the hill. The one that people said Saint Denis was beheaded at. It was the only place in Paris that she probably wouldn't be swept off the doorstep by a crabby maid, and the only one that it's front overhang was big enough to huddle without getting rained on. Edward knew from his own experience that brooms hurt and rain was cold. A lot.

Pushing himself out of his chair, he glanced at the sky and estimated the time. 11:15. One hour and fifteen minutes past curfew. He was going to be dead if he was caught. Edward snatched three oatmeal cookies off a tray and then opened the front door, starting out.

_

* * *

__O-o! Ow! Cold!_ Edward's frozen, cramped toes made him wish that he'd gone and asked for a cobbler's apprenticeship. Then he remembered the burly, screaming, red-faced cobbler that worked in Paris. He quickly dismissed the thought. The person that put himself in a seven-year-bondage to that goon either had to be starving, or a lunatic. _And I'm not a lunatic. But then maybe I am._ He corrected himself. It was true, a person that was running around in a city like Paris after curfew was either, very brave, or a complete fool. Edward decided that he was very brave.

The sopping wet, nineteen year old boy stopped for a moment in a doorway, shivering. He guessed the temperature to be around forty. And in reply, his breath made frosty white clouds in the air. He wished he could just go back to the inn. _But Madeleine's out there._ His brain focused on that one fragment of mentality so he wouldn't go insane. Pushing himself out of the doorway, the boy blew into his hands and shivered. _Death of some unknown disease. _The boy tried to laugh, but it came out in coughing, hacking gasps.

* * *

After another hour, Edward's mind had practically shut down. Only two thoughts remained. One; to save Madeleine, and two; to stay alive. The temperature had dropped to twenty degrees and the falling rain had turned to slushy snow. Edward's feet were so numb that he couldn't even feel the cobblestones he was walking on. Or, more like stumbling on. Life was definitely not liking him that day. Edward was trying to squeeze his one-track mind around something other than what he was thinking, and that was when he saw her.

She was exactly where he thought she'd be. By the large church on the hill. But he didn't have the picture in his mind that was before him. The path up to the hill was completely snowed over, and the church steps were icy. The entire scene seemed hostile to any life.

The girl was huddled in the far corner of the top church step. Her knees had been brought up to her chest and her head was buried in her arms. Fighting through the snow, Edward made his way to her. She didn't even lift her eyes to acknowledge him. Sitting on the step beside her, Edward gently slipped his index finger under her chin and raised it up.

Madeleine's eyes, when Edward looked at them, had a haunted, hollow look. Like a thin, helpless little dog, caught behind a cage. Her face was cold. So cold, that compared to Edward's hands, his hands were almost warm. He had seen the same look on a few people sitting on the street, with no money, and almost no clothes. She had lost the plucky spirt he'd always seen. He realized. The thing she was battling with, was so much bigger than her, that she had given up. But, the Madeleine he had known had never given up. That was what he had loved about her. _What happened to that girl?_ Brushing back a lock of black hair, he stared into the younger girl's eyes. They stared back, unblinking, almost begging him for help, but pushing him away at the same time. _Once I'm caught in this I'm never going to get out._ The decision only took a half-second to make.

"Maddie, tell me. I want to know."

* * *

For Madeleine, the words started hesitantly, in spurts, chokes, and sputters, like an old car starting up after fifty years. But after a while, the story started to flow, in a trickle, then a stream, then gushing out of her mouth and over Edward, pounding into him like waves. They changed tempo for a minute into a fire, lapping contentedly in a hearth. And once that was over, they began to whistle and howl like the wind, banging and rattling shutters, whipping around Edward and chilling him, not just physically, but mentally to the bone. The words beat down, hammering him into his seat. And then they were bitter, like a mouthful of sour pine tree leaves, bring tears to Madeleine's eyes. They stung, like a hornet. And they brought pain that hadn't been touched for five years just because it hurt too much.

"... And so I ran here." The seventeen year old finished.

Edward rested his chin on her mess of black curls, murmuring reassurances into Madeleine's hair. He didn't know how his arms had gotten around her, or how she had gotten into his lap, but he didn't mind her there.

_No wonder she's hurt._ His mind whirled like the snowflakes falling outside the church's over-hang. _They're trying to kill her. All of them._ And he could see in his mind's eye, when they had met and she'd said that she was running. When he'd begged her to tell him._ I was right._ Edward thought ruefully. _She didn't want to tell me because she couldn't. Now I'm caught in the wheel, and so far, there doesn't seem to be a hole in the spokes._

* * *

Madeleine buried her head in Edward's tunic, trying to hold back sobs. All she could think of right then, was an anchor. Michelle had explained the inner-workings of a ship to her. Gibraltar was practically sitting on the sea, so even the women knew how a simple fishing boat worked. Edward had become her anchor. Madeleine gripped him even more tightly, desperately afraid of drifting out to sea.

She felt it as Edward began to rock her. She was so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of running and tired of being afraid. It was too much, combined with her eyelids feeling like lead. Fighting sleep, her eyes fluttered. Madeleine snuggled closer to Edward though, the biting wind threatening to tear her away. It was the extra heat that eventually did her in.

Madeleine vaguely remembered being carried through the snowy city streets, but she could recall almost nothing about the inn, or being tucked under a heavy quilt. The only thing she could remember was Edward, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. His gentle hands sending shivers up her spine. The trace of a smile curved on her lips when he left.

* * *

E: _Alright. I'm done. Happy now?_

M: _Quite. Now explain to me about this Twitter-internet thing that I ought to know about, but don't._

E: _Okay -I wonder if I should just put you on the internet...- Twitter is a sort of a texting thing. You have to say whatever you're doing if 70 or something symbols or less. TMI means; Too much information._

M: _Excuse me, but how do you know this much about it? I mean, I don't even know what it is._

E: _How could you NOT? Twitter is the awesomest- most mind-boggling- most-_

M: _Incredible thing ever created on the face of the earth? Not._

E: _How can you SAY that? I am almost the #1 most followed twitter-er in the world!_

M: _And that means..._

E:_ Everyone likes me. Even the Lucians._

M: _Oh God..._

E: _Hmm... I ought to proclaim myself the ruler of twitter. In fact, that would be pretty interesting._

M:_ I, am going, to pull the plug, on that computer, right now._

E:_ HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!_

M: _Too bad, I just did. Live with it. And you can't be that popular in the world. Just because people follow what you're doing, doesn't mean that they'll fall at your feel when you walk past. Get that in your head before I brand it on your skin. Oh, Wade's calling. AND WALKING AWAY DOESN'T SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS!_

**

* * *

****Oh ouch. And I promised to you three times no more long chapters. Oh well. Please suffer for me. As you probably figured out, I'm not the biggest fan of Twitter, or Facebook, out there. I only have two accounts on the internet as a person and a Balto Source person (Piyip). I barely have enough time to log on here and put my stories up. More or less whatever I'm doing minute by minute... I don't even have a myspace... And I'm fairly happy about it too. No problems, no worries...**

**Note; Paris is located a more Northern edge of France than Western. All of you probably know that, but I haven't studied my geography for a while. (I need to review it. Seriously!) And for some reason I thought Paris was on the Western coastline of France! Agghh! The horror. I looked at a map for a minute and then I thought, that's not right! I had to relocate everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Well, geography wise.**

**Question; Is everyone okay with the kissing scene? I know people that want Madeleine and Edward together are okay with it. (Obviously.) But, is everyone else okay? I won't change it if not, but I thought it was best to get a statistic. Does everyone understand Madeleine 'doing her time'? If not, say so and I'll explain it. And who gets where the church was? (Hint; First book people...)**


	15. For the Sake of the Kittens

**Alright. Let's start. I'm tired. Remind me why I'm updating this story at midnight anyway... Ugh. My demented mind...**

**Shrouded. Mist. - Luke is the one that 1. promised her that he would kill her. And 2. Luke _does_ have the best tracking skills. 3. They're hunting her down, because she killed their parents! I know if someone killed my parents I'd be p*ssed at them. Seriously.**

**PurpleTea - Ha. Yeah. I wish they'd die. I'm working on the a/e thing.**

**Lil'Sunshine - Stalk? You're starting to scare me a little... Haha. Don't worry. I don't own a twitter page. SO YOU CAN'T STALK ME! Hahahaha... *laughter dies off in the distance* And yes, I try to update ASAP. Actually, I should probably update a little less, but I can't wait! Just like you probably can't wait for the next chapter. Oh well, you can skip the rest of this bold writing if you want to.**

**PercyJackson - YOU ARE AWESOMENESS! Hahahahaha! You rock! Yes. That is exactly where that was. At least, that's where I meant it to be. Glad you liked the kissing scene. Oops. I won't spill the beans. *begins muttering to self* Will not spill beans... Will not spill beans... Will not spill beans...**

**Hollyfur - Thanks. That's all I've got to say. Thanks. I'm really glad you're enjoying it.**

* * *

E: _Jeeze. What is it? One chapter yesterday, two chapters today. Are we going to do three tomorrow?_

M: _No. And I'll start writing. This is pretty much all about me anyway..._

E: _Hey! Watch it!_

**Chapter Fourteen; "For the Sake of the Kittens..."**

Madeleine raced through the seemingly, never-ending rows of merchants with things to sell. Each had baskets sitting by them, but all of them had _something_ wrong... _Too small..._ The girl thought desperately, more than aware of her pursuers close behind. And it was only nine in the morning. _Too small.. Does anyone- Perfect!_ Giving a glance to make sure no one was watching her, she lifted a man-sized basket's lid and ducked inside. She instantly regretted it.

Four pairs of claws were planted into her breeches, and four rows of tiny milk teeth tore into her skin. Four _kittens_.

"I worked three weeks for those!" Madeleine hissed, pulling a white and black kitten off of her stomach. Then she realized why the kittens were the way they were as she held the one. The poor things were nothing but fur and bones. They looked like they hadn't had a decent meal in days. But where was the owner? Surely he wouldn't leave four cute, friendly, little kittens all by themselves. Well, maybe not friendly... Madeleine pulled off another kitten who was trying to climb up her tunic.

Suddenly she heard a voice, "...and I'm going to toss them into the Seine if nobody takes them. You can have them for free if you can't pay. I just need them off my hands. I've got far too many cats than I need now anyway. I don't need more."

Madeleine's breath sucked in as her eyes widened. She couldn't get tossed into the Seine! The girl wished forlornly that she had climbed out of the basket earlier when she could of gotten away.

"I'll take them." A strangely muffled voice stated. Madeleine's heart pounded faster. "I've got a friend around that might want them."

The seventeen year old barely dared breath as she felt the basket being lifted up and carried. The new owner of the kittens started to quickly mutter something about 'fat cats,' and 'kittens that were fed entirely too much.'

While she was being carried, a few thoughts had time to rush into Madeleine's mind. All of them being about Edward. She had gotten up early in the morning, spent an hour, 'doing her time' in the kitchen and was gone before Edward was even up. She hadn't even had time to tell him goodbye. Or thank you. What a friend she was. Now if-

Her thoughts were interrupted when the basket was plopped down on the cobblestones with a heavy thump. "Now let's see how big you are to be that heavy." And she could see, through the tiny cracks in the basket, two hands, reaching for the lid. Madeleine Cahill's mind suddenly went blank. Only a sign popped into it. It had a Baker's loaf of bread on it, but her sign was different from the average sign. 'Fresh out of ideas,' It read. 'Come back tomorrow.'

* * *

E: _Fresh out of ideas. You think of the weirdest things Mads..._

M: _Ahem. Yo__ur turn._

* * *

_I'm a fool._ Edward thought ruefully. _I'm broke, but I just took custody of four kittens._ His hand hesitated, not taking off the basket lid. _I've got no clue where Madeleine is. Geeze, the way she runs she could be all the way in Amsterdam by now. Who wants kittens anyway? Hey, and where was Dani now I think about it? It looked like that wolf stayed by her through thin and thick. Where is he now? And Carrie too! She was gone from the barn when I checked her stall... _Millions of questions popped into Edward's mind, begging him for answers. Only Madeleine wasn't there to answer them. _Oh well. First things first._

Edward grabbed the lid to the basket and pulled it off. He stared inside. He had gotten four kittens alright. Four kittens and a girl to boot. Madeleine grinned up at him, a calico kitten teetering dangerously from the rim of her straw hat. Two were trying to climb up her pant legs, and the third was crawling up the inside of her sleeve. Edward's mouth opened and closed. He was momentarily speechless.

Madeleine stood up and pulled the calico kitten off her hat. Then shook the other three off of her. She dripped cats. Climbing out of the basket before the kittens could decide to crawl up the inside of her shirt, which was the only place they hadn't gone, she turned to the still shocked Edward. "Thanks. I was worried there for a minute."

Edward blinked. "Uhh, yeah. You're welcome. I... didn't know you were there. I would of let you out sooner."

"No worries. If you would of let me out sooner, I probably would of gotten killed. But, what are you going to do with the kittens? You aren't going to throw them into the river, are you? Or did you mean what you said when you had a friend to take them?"

Edward gave her a little sheepish grin, "Well, I _was_ hoping you would take them..."

"Me? What would I do with four kittens?" Madeleine happened to glance around, and then saw that they were near the Seine. It didn't have much traffic and only a few passerbys- herding pigs- were there to see them.

"I was sort of thinking, since you had Dani- Whatever happened to him anyway? They last time I saw him, he stuck to you like a burr." Edward remembered his questions about Dani and Carrie. "And Carrie too. She wasn't in the barn the next day."

Madeleine bit her lip and looked down at the ground, "Dani, Dani, h-he died. And Carrie... Carrie broke her leg." She didn't have to say any more. Edward knew enough about horses and livestock to know that a broken leg spelled death for any horse. No matter how attached an owner was to it. Horses legs were too fragile to mend. Many horse breeders had tried it, and everyone of them had proclaimed it impossible. Madeleine probably couldn't even wait around seven weeks for Carrie's leg to mend. If it could.

Edward gave a nod for his understanding, and didn't say a word. He knew it would hurt her too much. Madeleine gave a soft sigh and knelt down, tipping the basket over so the kittens spilled out over the ground. "Nothing would of helped them in the end Edward, they- they were too far gone. They'll still be some of the best friends I ever had." Then she glanced up and motioned Edward down. He sat beside her.

"So what _am_ I going to do?"

A crooked smile spread across Madeleine's face, "Well, for the sake of the kittens, we can't toss them in the river can we."

_We._ Edward blinked. He hadn't heard 'we' used in that manner for so long. It almost seemed alien to him now. Meant for an entirely different person. Not him. He quickly pushed his thoughts away before he looked like a fumbling idiot. "No. That's why I took them in the first place. I couldn't let them die."

The two friends pondered their problem together, throwing out options into a growing pool of ideas. Both of them were so focused on their task that neither of them noticed two growing shadows nearby. A minute passed. Then two. Nobody walked by to see two children debating the fates of a few kittens, or two people standing around. Watching them.

A few more minutes elapsed before one of the kittens decided to go see the world. He stumbled away over the cobblestones. "Come back here!" Madeleine laughed. Her eyes were twinkling as she reached out to scoop the kitten up. Then a shadow fell over both Edward, and Madeleine. Their heads instantly twisted up to look straight into Luke's glittering eyes.

"Boo."

* * *

M: _Yeah. You took custody of four kitten and a girl and you aren't questioning your sanity? Sure. Blame the person who doesn't have any ideas._

E: _I'm not blaming you I'm just saying that I couldn't of taken care of four kittens._

M: _Phhh. And you could take care of the girl?_

E: _HA! BEAN SPILLER!_

M: _What? Oh *%^()#$^* curses. It's in pen. Ahh well, it's not that bad. I didn't state it, like _obviously...

E: _So you can mess up and I can't. Great. I'm really enjoying writing this. Let's keep going._

* * *

Edward barely saw what happened next, since it happened so fast it was all a blur. Madeleine jumped to her feet, but Luke quickly caught her arm. Holding her tight, no matter how she struggled. "Let her go!" Luke's head swivled to see Edward rushing at him. He raised his arm up to block Edward's blows, but in doing so, he loosened his hold on Madeleine. She broke free and blindly plowed towards an alleyway. Only to run straight into Katharine.

Katharine twisted Madeleine's arms and held her away from herself so she was protected from any attack. "Well, well," She breathed, half laughing. "We all have grown, haven't we?" It was a rhetorical question. Nobody answered.

Luke and Edward stopped tussling on the ground and stood up. The later, of who was wondering how in the world a Dutch boy could get himself into such a mess in France. Luke brushed himself off, then eyed Madeleine with an unhurried, casual air that spoke volumes. Edward's blood froze. _This_ was what Madeleine had been running from? _This_ was why she'd been reduced to what she was? And she was still living?

He stared at the girl who's hat had been knocked off in the tussle. Who's black hair was coming loose and falling down from it's pinned place. Who's red lips were parted with her efforts to get away. Who's eyes had such a look of mournful wishing, of suffering, and of pain, that Edward wished he could clobber Luke and kill him right there. But although Edward could be a part fool, he wasn't one. Luke had a dagger hilt sticking out of his pocket. Edward looked at Madeleine again, and it was almost as if something had clicked in his brain. He knew what she was thinking. _I'm sorry you had to see this Edward._ And then Luke and Katharine started to walk North. Not even saying a word to him. It was like they'd thought he'd just give Madeleine up. Hand her over to them on a silver platter to be eaten. Roasted till brown.

Edward spun around, trying to find, what on earth he could use to stop them. Then he saw the kittens.

Scooping all of them up, he put them into the basket and stuffed on the lid. He began to run after the three people. The struggling one in the middle, who had both her arms pinned down tight. "Hey! Hey wait up!" Katharine turned around, confusion written in her eyes. Edward grabbed the one arms that wasn't holding Madeleine and shoved the basket of kittens into it. "I think you need these." The heavy basket almost slipped out of her grasp, but Katharine let go of Madeleine completely and caught it. Edward took the glimmer of opportunity and threw his entire weight onto Luke, who lost hold on his younger sister and hit the dirt. "Maddie run!"

Madeleine didn't need to be told twice. She bolted for the nearest alleyway. Edward paused for a minute to glare at Luke, then followed after Madeleine. They ran as fast as they could, not caring where they went or how they got there.

* * *

Madeleine's mind was wandering, more than focusing on not getting killed. Edward made sure of that. The only thing she could think of was. _Why? Why did he do what he did?_ Edward had known full well that he could get killed, and he had still saved her. He had put himself in danger, for her. So that she wouldn't die. He had saved her life, for the second time.

"Why did you do that?" Madeleine voiced her thoughts, turning to Edward beside her as she did so.

"Why shouldn't I of done it?" He shot back. "Did you want to die?"

"It's danger-" Breaking in mid-sentence, she grabbed Edward's arm and pulled him into an empty house. "Be quiet." She pulled all the shades and bolted the door, then she bit her lip. "It's dangerous Edward. If they find you with me, you'll be killed too."

Edward shrugged, "I'm not doing anything."

Madeleine glared at him. How could boys be so, so, so... imprudent? "That's not the point! I'm saying," She hissed. "That if you protect me, you, can, _die_. Why is that so hard to understand?"

* * *

E_: IMPRUDENT? That's insulting! Your ANNOYING!_

* * *

"I understand it," Edward placed both his hands on her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. "But what I'm saying is, it doesn't matter. I don't care. Maddie, if- What's that?"

* * *

M: _Oh yeah? You want a name calling game? IRRITATING PERSON! I'm not going to give this pen back to you if you keep it up. Do you remember this part?_

* * *

Both Madeleine and Edward's noses started twitching. Then when Madeleine saw a curl of smoke start to creep under the door, the tactic clicked. "It's one of Katie's smoke devices. They're trying to smoke us out. Here." Ripping off two strips of cloth from a sheet, Madeleine wet them, and handed one to Edward. She pressed her own against her nose. "They'll help block the smoke."

* * *

E: _Yeah, of course I do. Like it was yesterday. You were the Sad-_Ass_ then._

* * *

Madeleine watched as the smoke started to billow around the room, turning everything black in it's path. They would suffocate soon if they couldn't get out. But against the curtains, she could see two outlines. Katharine and Luke. Waiting.

* * *

M: _You know that the people who are reading this are probably going to have your head later... Okay, that's enough, we'd better stop with this. This is a story, not a forum, or whatever they call those things you're continuously talking on..._

* * *

"Edward," She raised the cloth a bit from her mouth so she could talk. "Can you run fast?"

"No not really," He glanced at her, eyes laughing. "But I'm learning how."

"Cut the jokes." She shot back, "When you're about to die, they're not really funny. If you go out the door one way, and I go another, do you think you can outrun them?"

"Maybe, but if there's no jokes in your life, you take things too seriously. Like dying."

"Tell me this!" Madeleine burst out, "If you were about to die, would you take it seriously? I would! And I am! Good luck to you if you want to die! I _don't_!"

"Calm down," Edward glanced at her laughingly. "You're stressing too much."

"I AM NOT STRESSING!"

Edward got his chance for a good laugh. "Alright then, if you're not stressing and you're not screaming your head off, then listen to me. Yes. I like your plan. It will work."

"Good." Madeleine turned away from him, disgusted. "That was all I needed to know. Yes, or no. Simple, right?"

"No, I'm sorry, what was that again?"

Madeleine clenched her fist, screwed up her face and screamed. If it could be called screaming. There was no noise coming out of her mouth, only air. Edward watched her with a raised eyebrow, laughing. "Alright, better now." She loosened up. "Do you know where the common is?"

Edward nodded, trying to be as silent as possible.

"I'll meet you there then. Ready?" She met Edward's eyes, resting her hand on the handle of the door, muscles tensed, ready to spring.

He gave another nod. "Ready."

"Go." The door swung open and two children burst out, going in opposite directions. Luke and Katharine were far too surprised to follow.

* * *

E: _Boys are not imprudent! That's insulting!_

M: _So... What do I say then? Smelly... Over-ripe... Sad-Donkeys..._

E: _You're rude, to boys everywhere. And I'm your-_

M: _BEAN SPILLER! Shut up before your loud mouth spoils the story!_

E:_ Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm your h _. That's really going to encourage people to read the story. You won't even let me say anything._

M:_ I'm going to start taking the ink well away from you in a minute. Just because Jane gave you another quill pen doesn't mean that you can lord it over me like that._

E: _You do know that it's my ink well, I bought it on E-bay for five hundred bucks-_

M: _Five hundred deer?_

E:_ -And I technically can do whatever I want with it? And that includes dumping it's contents over your head..._

M:_ If you do that, you're going to get a nose full of quill._

E: _Yeah, it wouldn't make your hair any blacker anyway. I heard that some h_ do that to their w_ to make their hair black._

M: _If you so much as write two letters..._

E: _I only wrote one! Seriously! Take another person's position into consideration here!_

M: _Sure I am. You've got two of the chair's legs off the floor and you're leaning back unaware of what I'm writing here. Now, if I just tip you back a little farther..._

E: _That hurt. I'm going to have a lump there as big as Ian's._

M: _Ah, well, tough luck. I'm going to bed now..._

* * *

**Okay, so first of all, I'm sorry. I'm super tired because I cleaned for two hours. And then I'm typing at midnight. The midnight part is pretty much my fault, but this is the first time Dad's actually left the computer unlocked. Ugh. So there it is. Enjoy.**

**Question; What would you do if you were in a basket with four starving kittens? How do you like Madeleine's 'I'M NOT STRESSING'? How often we say those three little words... What do you think h_ and w_ are? (Think of the sentence they're in...)**


	16. Two Cabbage Heads are Better than One

E: _I'm-_

M:_ If you say 'I'm tired' one more time, someone I don't know is going to get a brick in their mouth. Edgewise._

E: _Well, it _is _two hours till midnight..._

M: _Two hours. Think about that. Two hours to write. Two hours to get things done. Even if you're tired. I think that computer's starting to slow down your brain._

E: _Says the person who ignores Fiske's messages 24/7. You know he started to call me since you won't answer your cell. Now I've got to take all those messages and log them onto the computer and do all that other stuff. And you're complaining about me being busy..._

M: _Alright, I forgive you. Forget it. Start writing._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Fifteen; Two Cabbage Heads are Better Than One**

Edward felt like his lungs were collapsing. His breath had never been so ragged since he had tried to win the potato-sack races at the annual county fair. And this was even worse because he had Madeleine's blood-thirsty, killer brother behind him for all he knew. He didn't want to stop and find out for sure.

In addition to trying to push the thought of collapsing from no-air away, he was trying to figure out the quickest route to get to the common. And then, in front of all that, he had tripped over a chicken crate, almost gotten the contents of a chamber pot dumped on his head, had taken an entirely wrong turn, and there was egg splattered all over his clothes.

He didn't even want to think about how that had happened.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, judging by the sun, Edward stumbled the last few steps to the common. His lungs felt like someone was squeezing both of them together with a pair of blacksmith's tongs. _Why? Oh why, oh why, oh why-_ He collapsed against a tree.

"Hey!" A head, full of curls, tumbled down right in front of his nose. When he looked, he was staring directly into a pair of green eyes. _Madeleine's_ green eyes. "Forty-five minutes is a long enough wait isn't it? Couldn't you of come earlier?"

"I-" Edward wheezed back, trying to get enough air to be angry. "I... was made for-... swimming! Not-... running for... hours at a time!"

Madeleine stared at him for a minute, then let go of the branch she was hanging upside down on, flipped in the air, and landed on her feet. "You can catch your breath."

Edward gave her a glare that meant, when he had 'caught his breath' she was going to be sorry she had ever said it. He didn't need to be made a fuss over. Madeleine waited a bit farther away, smiling slyly at him. "I'm not like you or Tom!" Edward snapped after a minute. "I can't run all day!"

Madeleine paused, for once not thinking up one of her sassy comments. "Then in that case... I guess... it was nice seeing you again." She stuck her hand out to shake. Her eyes weren't triumphant, or scornful, but rather sad. They showed she would miss him when he was gone.

"Just because I said I can't run fast doesn't mean I'm leaving!" Edward pushed her hand away.

Madeleine bit her lip, staring at Edward, trying to judge wether it was a good thing to let him join her, or not. "There's no turning back." She finally whispered. "And you probably won't get a moment's peace till you die."

Edward stuck out his hand, "Shake on it?"

Her eyes met his as they shook. It was like the radiant sky, meeting an emerald sea, two different cultures, and people, coming to a point on the horizon. And then everything was sealed shut. The emerald sea smiled, happy to have a friend at least, but a thought suddenly smacked her in the face. "Edward, what happened to the kittens?"

Her partner looked sheepish, "I shoved them onto Katie."

"You what?"

"Well sor-ry!" He shot back. "I was a _little_ more concerned about you getting out of there alive, than I was about four kittens."

"Katie won't even care what happens to them!"

"And Luke would care more?"

"None of their business, is it?" They glared at each other, trying to get the upper hand. They both gave in at the same time.

"I'm going to find out what happened to them." Madeleine marched off in the direction of Paris. "No thanks to you."

"I saved your life!" Edward cupped his hands to his mouth and screamed back. "And those kittens helped!"

She started running. "I know! So I'm going to help them!"

"Madeleine!" But she was already running towards the place where they'd last seen them. Edward scowled, not really mad, but just annoyed. _Won't that girl ever learn to listen?_

* * *

"I can't believe you made us run _all_ the way there, and the kittens were perfectly fine, in a good, safe home. It's ridiculous."

"Well, Mr. Smart Breeches, it seems like doing that is better than just sitting by a tree wondering, 'hmm, I wonder if those kittens that saved my life ever got picked up'."

Edward snorted, picking up a rock from the ground and launching it at an enormous pine. "Easy for you to say. I'll bet you could run all the way to Spain without stopping."

"So? What difference does that make?" Madeleine picked up a pebble, and with a flick of her wrist, deftly lodged it in an aspen tree's knothole. "I'd prefer to know, since I'd be going around with a tiny little voice in my head saying, 'whatever happened to those kittens'? It's not right just to leave them!"

"But we didn't leave them," Edward grabbed another rock and ripped a leaf off a tree. "I gave them to Katie."

"Who knows what Katie did with them?"

"She obviously did the smart thing. She left them in a place she knew they'd get picked up."

Madeleine glared at him, "That wasn't my point."

"Well then, what is?"

Her mouth opened, and then she shut it. She plainly didn't have enough of a point to emphasize. "Go left a bit," Madeleine finally snapped. "If we're going to Gibraltar then you have to go South."

Edward smirked, and as he turned, stuck his foot out. Madeleine rapidly tripped over it. She shot optical daggers at him.

Edward wasn't bothered, he just wondered why she didn't laugh.

_

* * *

_

_Great. So Maddie says that I'm the one that's complaining 'I'm tired', and she's the one that runs off to bed early. Now I've got to sign this thing off and all that jazz. Hmm. Jazz. Maybe I'll tease Maddie sometime with that._

-_EC (and MC, technically, but since she ran off and I'm the one writing this, then I think I deserve to put my name down. Even if I have to be the 'editor'.)_

**

* * *

**

**Now, I want to see, ahead of time, well... I won't say...**

****Any how, yes. I know this chapter sucks. I really don't like it myself, but I wanted to put something in here about Maddie and Edward joining together. It just had to be in a little chapter like this. Forgive me will you?

**Question; Why do you think Madeleine didn't laugh? I won't except 'She felt crappy that day' as an answer. Think hard. Here's a hint; it has something to do with emotions and running...**


	17. Author's Note

**Author's Note;**

**You know, when I was just an anonomous person reading stories and leaving reviews on all the stories people would let me review on, I hated people that wouldn't update. I hated it when people had an awesome story going on, and then wouldn't update for a year! (Look at 'Back to Basics, Back to Reality'.) So I am very concious of what happened and what I did. Yes, I am completely guilty for the past two months. I give you permission to scream at me all you want.**

**This, as you have probably guessed, is a very long author's note. First off, I want to apologize. You remember what I said about updating at midnight on the last few chapters of Forgiveness? Well, there's a reason that I haven't been on. If you're an Ekat, you've probably already guessed. But not all of us can be Ekats. So to all those non-Ekats out there; I was grounded. Yes. I was grounded until Thanksgiving. I'm not really mad or anything, because heck, I did deserve it. And if I deserved it, what's the use of arguing. That'd be just stupid. So that's the reason I haven't replied to anybody and/or been SERIOUSLY late for my PM's. Sorry.**

**The Black Book of Secrets was TOTAL AWESOMENESS! I loved the way it started. Lol. They were all secret agents. Patrick is a Lucian! Glory be! "You tricked us!" Classic! And I know about the picture of Madeleine. Red hair. And yes, I did know that the black ribbon is tied around her neck, not in her hair, and yes, it's black. Yeah... Scream at me all you want, but this is , right? I mean, it's a live, and let live, world, not a dog-eat-dog, right? Grrrr... *chomp* Gahhh! Okay, maybe not. Whatever.**

**You know, the picture they had of Luke was really cool. I loved it. LUKE DON'T LEAVE! That was so sad he was accused! But I'm going to let a little secret loose, and I'm going to have my minute of bragging. (Please?) I knew that Luke and Jane were partners because if you look at the chrest, it has Tom and Katie, on one side, and then Jane and Luke on the other. If you look closely, you can see that the Wolf and Two Snakes are facing the Dragon and Bear. Cool right? So I loved the book that came out. And in the book- I almost started crying when Katherine let Tom go! IT WAS SO SAD! How could she do that? Oh well. *Lapulta doubles over, a pool of water collecting on the floor as she sobs***

**Next off; Happy Thanksgiving. Even though it's over. And Happy Halloween to all the people that I wasn't able to say it to. :( (I wasn't able to be Luke Skywalker since my Mom wouldn't buy me the cloth for my costume. Grr... I got to be a college student. {Actually, that wasn't such a bad costume. You don't see that many people running around in an overly-large sweatshirt and jeans for Halloween. (I got extra candy too since I looked so skinny! {Hmm... I am pretty skinny though...(Did you know that's what college students are suppose to look like since they do so much studying?(I went and sprayed a bunch of sparkles in my hair too! (It was so cool...)!).}.).}.)**

**And then; Forgiveness is still up and running. No, I have not forgotten. In fact, I've been typing like crazy and I've gotten to Chapter Thirty-six so far. I won't tell you what happens then. It's a secret! *starts giggling insanely and people begin shooting concerned glances* So I'm still going update- You know, if you don't really want to read this and just what to find out what happens next to Maddie and Edward, why don't you go and just press that next chapter button. This is probably annoying you anyway.**

**As pertaining to; New stories. As OMG it's Rice knows. (Awesome beta people. I owe a lot to her.) I'm going to put up a couple new stories. There's TPWSTM and maybe 39CB. I'm going to let you guess what those abreveations mean. I feel evil today. I've written a while ago, a part in Forgiveness; that EVERYBODY who likes Edward is going to hate me for. So... That's all the spiller you're going to get. (Author's Note in the Author's Note; The TPWSTM has Moon, Shining, and Problem as words in it some where. START GUESSING!)**

**Questions; I was hoping for some questions answered. Do you like the little Italic parts where Maddie and Edward are talking? I put them in there because I thought they were funny and added quite a bit of humor to the story, but maybe I'll take them out if you don't like them. Would you like a sequel to Forgiveness;? Would you READ a sequel to Forgiveness;? What would you do if I said I wasn't going to do a sequel? What would you do to make me do a sequel?**

**Okay! Thanks for reading! Now, back to the story...**

**~Lapulta~**

**P.S. Someone was amazing enough to actually nominate me for the miscellaneous category for the Madrigal Award! Thank you to that person! I appreciate it! *Insert a million exclamation marks here.* Umm... Whoever did it, can you tell me and let me know? I'd really love to thank that person, in person... OMG it's Rice. YOU ARE COMPLETE AWESOMENESS! Thank you so much!... OMG! I was NOMINATED! *faints***

**P.S.S. You will be very happy to know, PurpleTea88, that I went and corrected all the 'Katherines' in the story. I need to fix up the one on the internet. But I've got everything running. I'm trying my best.**


	18. Internet Input

**Just a little thing that I liked and I thought was funny. It was actually suppose to be put in the story after Chapter Nine, but I was too lazy and didn't get it in. So it's going in now. Period. .**

* * *

M: _I CALL PEN AND INK WELL FIRST! Ha!_

E:_ We're still sharing. Oh, and get this, I put the first chapter on._

M: _Edward Cahill, if you're saying that... something very bad is going to happen right now._

E: _Well... yeah, I couldn't resist._

M: _YOU IDIOT! For that I want complete custody of this pen. And the ink well._

E: _No! That's my pen! You're not taking that! Oh, and get a load of this. Everybody else already reviewed it. They've all got accounts on . Which is what I put it on._

M: _? Remember, you're talking to a non-computer-literate person here._

E: _Yeah. Right. So, is a place where all these people meet, on the internet, all over the world. And they share stories written about Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson and all that good stuff._

M: _You're definitely getting too 2010 oriented. But go on._

E: _That's not a bad thing... Anyway, supposably, some dude named Rick Riordan (he's a Janus) has actually started all these books about the clue hunt. It's amazing. So all the people on are trying to guess what happened to you, and what happened to me. Well, actually I'm not in the story. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THEY CUT ME OUT!_

M: _Calm down Ed, you're writing so hard you're scaring me, and you're going to break the quill tip. And that's the only one we have._

E:_ Sorry. So since everyone's trying to guess what happened, I thought that I'd just logon and put the story on there. Well, supposably Luke, Katie, Jane and Tom are all on there too._

M:_ WHAT?_

E: _Well that's what I was trying to get around to telling you. They already reviewed. Look at the computer screen. Here's what they said. Luke reviewed first. 'Wow. Whoever put this up, keep it going because this seems like the actual thing.'_

M: _That's seriously lame. And it's littered with potholes._

E: _He only wrote two sentences!_

M: _Well duh. Dude look at it! How would he know that it's the 'real thing' if he hadn't done it. Now this is why I didn't want it on the internet. Everybody commenting on it and critiquing it... Ugh. What did Katie say?_

E: _'If you write the next chapter like it really happened, I'm going to find you, whoever you are. And kill you. When that happened... well... it was mortifying.'_

M: _Yeah, and she's the 'genius'. 'When that happened'. Someone's going to find her and do something to her._

E:_ No kidding. So here's Tom. I'll tell you all their site usernames in a minute. They're hilarious. 'I remember that rollick. What is rollick suppose to mean anyway? Help. Someone.'_

M: _Oh my gosh. I'm not going to be able to stop laughing for a week. I'll have to phone him some time and tell him the meaning of that. 'Help'... I'm going to 'help' him..._

E: _Alright, so here's Jane. She was the last one. 'Madeleine Cahill if you continue writing this, it will not be pretty.'_

***silence***

M:_ Did you say our names or anything?_

E: _No. But the fact that you signed that first chapter with MC may have something to do with it. I'm pretty sure that Jane knows MC doesn't stand for May Cassandra._

M: _Well thank you for that obvious comment. If she said my name, then I'm pretty sure that she knows. Watch- wait, when did you put this on the internet?_

E:_ Ahh, two hours ago._

M: _Watch, she's going to be here before the day's out._

E: _Ouch. Maybe we should remove this..._

M: _You're going to do the removing. I'm not touching that un-living pack of bolts and numbers. Oh, and you said you were going to show me their usernames._

E:_ Yeah, I did, didn't I. So here's Luke's; _^-Pure-Lucian-^

M: _Oh my gosh... That's so like him. It looks like a bunch of palm trees surrounding a name._

E: _You forgot that it's not even a name... Unless someone's son is going to be named Pure-Lucian..._

M: _Never. That'd just be weird... What's Katie's?_

E: ~-~Fire Starter~-~

M:_ Beam me up Scotty there's no intelligent life of this planet..._

E: _You changed that! It said, 'there's no life'. Not 'intelligent life'._

M: _Well it's true. There is no intelligent life on this planet. Especially not with what Katie just did. Jeeze. My older sister..._

E:_ Ahh, live for the present... Here's Tom's. _/\_Ain't No Mountain High Enough_/\

M:_ Isn't there a song like that? And isn't it a love song?..._

E: _Yeah. Insane isn't it. I got a kick out of that one. And Jane's. _/*!Flower Power Lives On!*\

M: _I think all her imagination is going to her head... Flower Power... Beam me up Scotty. Or maybe I should say; Beam me up Edward..._

E:_ Hmm. I'd be more than willing :)_

M: _What the heck is that suppose to be? It looks like a squished froggy face!_

E: _Ahh, well it's suppose to be a smiley face, not a froggy face, but I think you've got the general idea..._

M: _Idea, shimea. I really need to be beamed up right now._

E: _Let's not write a chapter tonight. My hand's already cramped from writing so much. Here comes Wade. It's your turn to get him his water tonight..._


	19. Swimming Lessons

E: _Now... This part I hate._

M: _Don't worry. I hate it too. Lets get it over with as quick as possible._

_

* * *

_

_Two Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Sixteen; The Swimming Lesson**

"We've only got about five minutes till he finds us," Edward urged, standing at the edge of a river. "It'll take too long if we have to go downstream and find a different way to cross. Why won't you just swim?"

"I said 'no' Edward." Madeleine crossed her arms and stared at him, defying every effort to move her from the 'safety' of the riverbank. "I'm not swimming."

Edward had run out of arguments, but then an idea popped into his head. The power of follow-the-leader. "I guess I'll meet you downstream then." Kneeling down, he unstrapped his shoes, then quickly tied the leather thongs together and tossed his shoes over the twenty yards of water.

The river itself wasn't that hard to cross. Edward didn't see what her problem was with it. It was probably only seven-feet-odd deep and twenty yards wasn't that much of a distance to swim. He had swum longer lengths when he was four. Struggling out of his tunic, Edward tied it to a rock and flung it to the other side also.

"What are you doing?"

He glanced at his friend to find her cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet. She had her eyes trained on his face, making sure they didn't go anywhere else. Edward fought back a grin. "I'm going to Spain. Are you coming?"

"I'm going to Spain! I'm not going to swim! Thank you very much!"

Edward snorted, "I'm not going to carry you across. There's no need to thank me." The glares from Madeleine grew only slightly colder.

Backing up a little, Edward got a running start and cannon-balled into the river. He came up laughing. The water was perfect. Approximently eighty degrees, not too hot, not too cold. He grinned up at Madeleine and did a few backward strokes to look at her. She was watching him, her eyes indecisive, like she didn't know what she wanted to do. "The water's great!" Edward urged, trying to convince his unwilling friend.

She just bit her lip and stared at him with a wistful expression. "Edward, please. Let's just find somewhere else to cross."

"_I'm_ going to swim." Edward gave a few more backstrokes.

Madeleine shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "Ed- Edward... Ed, I-I can't swim." The truth regretfully pushed itself out of her mouth.

Edward blinked, and then realized what she was thinking. Just because he had always known how to swim didn't mean that other people knew too. He changed tactics. "Here Mads, I'll catch you. Take off your boots."

"But I'll drown Ed!"

"Madeleine, look at me," Edward ordered, straightening up and starting to tread water with his arms. "Nobody's going to drown. Take off your boots." She meekly obeyed, tossing the leather shoes to the other bank when she was done. "Now come on, and jump in. I'll catch you."

"I don't want to jump," She murmured, looking tentatively over the two foot drop at the waterline below.

Edward frowned for a moment. This wasn't the Madeleine he remembered. His Madeleine had been bold, and strong, and daring, and- He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. "Walk in then. I don't care. I'll catch you either way."

Biting her lip, Madeleine took a deep breath, then got a running start and jumped into the water. When she jumped though, her arms flailed, trying to grab onto air. "Edward!" Then she hit the river with a resounding smack. Edward flinched. He hated belly-flops. "_Edward!_"

Pushing himself forward a bit, he grabbed her arm before she could sink. _How lame. _He thought mildly. _She could beat half of the boys in Paris in a swimming race if she tried._ Then Madeleine's arms locked around his neck. "Let go!" He instantly kicked out to help keep himself afloat. "You'll kill us both!"

"You got me in the water!" Madeleine snapped back.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I. And I'm the one teaching you to swim. Let go of my neck and stop panicking. If you panic, you drown. That's the first thing about swimming. Don't panic."

"Thanks," Madeleine snorted. "That helps a lot." But she let go of his neck and relaxed a little in the water. Edward managed to find a bit of footing among a few loose stones.

"Don't try and fight the water," Was his next instruction. "You have to go with it, and be it's friend. If you fight it, you'll always lose."

"What kind of instruction is that?" Madeleine howled, glaring at him. "_Don't try to fight the water?_ How can you _not_ fight the water? You'll drown!"

"Stop talking about drowning!" Edward found himself on the verge of anger. "No one's going to drown! At least if you shut up no one will, and trust me." Madeleine looked like she wanted to say something, but she bit her lip. "Nothing's going to happen." He took a deep breath and tried to calm his temper. "When you're swimming, you want to push the water away from where you want to go. Move your arms in a circular motion to just tread water and not go anywhere. If you do that, then you're pretty well set."

Madeleine almost grew completely limp in Edward's arms. He tightened his hold on her waist so she wouldn't slip away. She didn't make any move to go. His arms started to grow a bit tired and his patience was more than exhausted. "Well? Are you going to go before tomorrow?" There was no reply. _Well she asked for it._ Edward smirked and let go of the girl.

Instantly, two strong arms clamped around his neck. Edward was almost disgusted. How did anyone learn how to swim if they didn't even try to test the water? "Maddie look," He pulled off the arms, but still held them, forcing Madeleine to float directly in front of him and look into his eyes. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. But I'm also not going to just sit here and carry you over when you can swim perfectly well."

And he let her go.

* * *

Madeleine's mouth flew open in surprise and her arms flashed down to stop herself from sinking. Almost by accident, she did what Edward had told her- to move her arms in a circular motion. She didn't sink. Edward smirked as she suddenly got the hang of it and treaded water next to him. Couldn't swim indeed. Baloney.

Edward pushed off the stones a little and back-stroked his way to the middle of the river. Madeleine followed more timidly, dog-paddling and giving a few vigorous strokes now and then. Edward let the current take him a bit downstream. If he went downstream, it was probably less likely that Madeleine would get a scare, being new to the past-time. She started to gain confidence though, pushing through the water. And sometimes, when she felt brave, diving a few inches under.

"Now who said you couldn't swim?"

Madeleine blushed sheepishly. "Edward don't."

"Alright, alright." The nineteen year old rolled his eyes. "You win-" The sound of a horse's whinny could be heard and pounding hoofbeats. Their time was up. "Madeleine, get up, put your boots on and start running." Edward braced himself against the rocks and aimed at the other side of the river.

"But Edward..."

"No buts, I'll distract him and catch up with you. Hurry!"

* * *

Madeleine was numb. Somehow, surviving had lost it's number one place in the count down of her life. Edward had replaced it. How could he be going- _leaving_, her? Why couldn't they run together? She fastened the last of her laces and gave a dash into immediate cover. Then she stopped. She couldn't leave Edward. They were a team.

Ducking down, the girl peeked out from beneath a few ferns. Luke was riding into the river. Quarter across, one third. Edward suddenly launched himself off the rock, diving into the water. He popped up again halfway across, with... something in his hand. Madeleine couldn't tell what. Then he smacked Luke's horse on his rump. The horse reared up, turning the water around him to foam. Swimming off to the French side of the river, Edward flicked something from his hand. The horse reared again.

Luke decided that he would deal with the immediate threat first. Turning around, he pushed his horse back towards the shore he'd come from. Edward scrambled up the rim and continued to flick pebbles at the two advancers.

_Edward, don't do anything stupid._ Madeleine thought. Not knowing that she was clenching her fist so tight that her fingernails were digging into her palm. She had told him time, and time again not to underestimate the people they were up against. If he got himself killed now, just because he hadn't listened. Well... Madeleine didn't know what she'd do.

The first hoof the horse set on the bank though, Edward took a running start, dodged past Luke and his dagger, and dived into the river. It was a perfect dive, taking a third of the river. But he didn't resurface. Madeleine's breathing quickened. _Edward, please..._ And then he was climbing up the Spanish side's bank. He was laughing. His eyes twinkling with the merriment of the joke he'd played. After he finished lacing his shoes, he picked up another handful of ammunition and continued firing, walking backwards, with quite painful accuracy.

Madeleine almost felt irked though. Why was Edward laughing? It was like he'd just had a time when he didn't have to do anything. Not when he was running for his life. Getting killed wasn't anything to laugh over.

And then he was running away through the woods. "Edward wait!" She scrambled up as he stopped, waiting for her like she'd asked.

"I thought I'd told you to run."

They started off together, racing into the woods. "I know, but I couldn't leave."

There was silence for a few minutes, with nothing but the soft crunching of branches beneath their feet. "Madeleine," Edward suddenly murmured. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

Edward paused for a moment, and in that second, all of his courage unraveled. "No, sorry, I lost it. It's nothing." They headed towards the interior of Spain.

E: _Ha. I still remember that. I chickened out._

M: _Bawk, bawk, bawk._

E:_ No! Not like that! I meant when I was going to ask you-_

M: _You're a serious bean-spiller aren't you._

E:_ Ahh. Okay, fine, I see what you mean. Anyway, you were a chicken when you wouldn't even try to learn to swim._

M: _Okay, okay, fine. I was the sad-ass. Got it. Let's keep on writing. It's not too late yet._

**This is the revised edition where there is no Two Weeks Later; missprint to drive everyone crazy. I sincerely apologize for that...**

**Question; What do you think Edward's question was going to be?**


	20. True Love

**Okay. I've got lots of things to say right now. It's probably a good thing that this is a relatively short chapter.**

**Alexandria; I feel too evil right now to tell you if you're write or wrong. (Love my pun?) So read on and find out.**

**LOL! Edward Cullen! I think I knew about that for some reason, way in the back of my head. But I didn't take that into consideration. If you are willing to stick with me till Chapter Twenty-six, you will get your explanation. I think it's a good explanation too. But the problem is, I sort of chopped it short when I didn't mean to. Oh well. Uh- enjoy when you get to Chapter Twenty-six.**

**Lil' Sunshine; Yup. H and W. I'm glad someone figured it out! If you are reading this, it means that I have updated soon. *grins***

**PurpleTea88; Yup. H and W. I'm glad someone figured it out! *Begins giggling insanely* Something to do with love? You've got your chapter and you are a very, very attentive person. *Begins giggling insanely again* I am very glad that you like the italic parts. When I was off-site, I loved it when they had the characters just sort of slap-sticking each other. *Grins***

**Sam; Since never. She's sort of an add-on character that to me, doesn't really add anything, but is still there. I hate chars like that, but she's Maddie's sister. I can't really cut her out.**

**Joelle8; Oh. My. God. DID YOU SEE THAT PEOPLE? SHE REVIEWED ME! SHE REVIEWED MY STORY! OH MY GOD! *faints. Recovers, then begins hyperventilating.* I can not believe this. I HAVE BEEN REVIEWED BY JOELLE8! THE FAMED AMAZING AUTHOR! OMG! *faints again. Recovers, then stares at the screen, not blinking.* Oh. My. God. *Continues hyperventilating.* Wow. Okay, outburst over. It's very nice to see you! I hope you're having a good day! Please enjoy a virtual cupcake. Courtesy of Lapulta. *Hands Joelle8 a virtual cupcake with pink frosting and purple eatable balloons on top.* No reading the Black Book of Secrets? Be sure to get it as soon as it comes out! It's really cool! (I think.)**

**Now to answer your question after my crazy outburst; Nothing is really two weeks later. That was a typo.**

**Incendiartist; I am very, very appreciative that you took the time to read my stories. I do not want your time to go un-thanked.**

**With the last name of the Cahills, I noticed that around... Uh... Book seven? Maybe Gideon was a fan of Egyptian mythology and took his name from that and the hill he lived on. (Ka-hill.) Or maybe he fished for cod. (Cod-hill.) I don't think that's a very plausable answer to you, but I honestly don't know. I do know, that there is no such job, as Cahill-er that I know of.**

**With the talking; I was very conscience of the Old-English thing. I have read a lot of old English things, and tried to make my story as Old-English as possible, but the problem is, I don't want people to have trouble reading this because it's all written in Old-English. I've read 'The Old Man and the Sea' and 'Red Badge of Courage'. Old things, like that. Perhaps you can understand them, and I can understand them, but I don't want anybody else to be hindered because they might not be able too. Does that make sense and isn't offensive to anybody?**

**Ahh... Words. I was just trying to make something up. All I knew about Chingon was that it was something that was similar to a bun. Cut out French, and 1800's, and all the stuff you described. I might change that, and I might not. Chingon fits in well with the storyline, althought not with the time frame. Actually, you're going to have an enormous plot line to scream at me for if I decide to do the sequel to Forgiveness;. If. I might, and I might not. It's in the air. The time frames are going to be so tweaked it's not even funny.**

**The hand thing. Um... I do understand that. You make it very clear. And yes, I did notice that her writing at that age wasn't such a great thing to put in, but I needed to make her seem, umm... Amazing? Does that fit? She needed to sound amazing enough to fit the postition she was meant to fit. I hope that works... (Thank you so much for the motor-control description. I could use that.)**

**I'm not quite sure I get what you mean. Were you talking about me writing in third person? Or were you talking about Madeleine writing in second person. If you were talking about Madeleine, yes I did realize that. I thought; 'What the crap. I'd never be a good enough writer to write the story of my life in second person.' Um... Maybe Madeleine's just awesome that way. If you were talking about me, you put a very good line out. When I was little and just starting writing, I wrote in third person. Then when I was getting older, and improving, I wrote a lot in first person. Now that my writing is rather better than it was, I'm back to writing in third person. The POV that I'm writing in actually depends a lot on the character and what she/he does in the story. I base it on that. I have never written in second person if that's what you're talking about. Maybe I will, someday, but not now.**

**You should try and read the 39 Clues. I don't know how old you are. If you're older than sixteen, you're probably more into Harry Potter or Twilight (Both which I haven't read.) But check them out. The first series is done and the next series is starting on April 5. You may like them!**

**My other story. You liked it? Really? Or are you just saying that. No offence, but I've had a couple of friends off-line that I've given my stories to read. They said they were good. Now I look back and I start bemoaning myself that I didn't capitalize the first word in a sentence. Good my eye. If you really do think that it may help people, then I'm sincerely glad. Maybe I have been worth something on . If not- well. Maybe I should just kill both stories and scoot off of here ASAP...**

**Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy- um... enjoy something.**

**Wow! That was a long reply! Now... Everybody; Most people have been commenting on the Two Weeks Later; thing that ended up at the bottom of the sixteenth chapter. Let's just say that I was so eager to update Forgiveness, that I didn't change anything that, umm... REALLY needed to be edited/deleted/changed. That chapter will be redone and the Two Weeks Later; thing- deleted.**

**It's very nice to know that people have actually wanted me to update. (Wait till I get to Chapter Twenty-seven...) Oh well, enjoy!**

**Oh! Forgot. This chapter is best read as if you're mouthing it and saying it like someone was actually speaking. Take it slow, and pause at every comma and period. The reason I'm saying this, is because I've found that if I read it fast, it sounds crappy, you miss parts, and the whole thing is just smooched together into an icky smore that was dropped in the dirt. So um... Please. Take it slow and be prepared for sappiness. (Is it sappyness or sappiness? I think it would be sappiness with the cut out 'y' and 'add i' but which one is it?)**

**Talk about long Author's Notes. It must be something in the Arizona air right now people. Oh! I know! It's cooler! Wow! Um... Please, ignore me...**

**

* * *

**

E: _You're crazy. Why do we have to write three chapters anyway?_

M:_ I said so. I said so. I said so. Ha! So start writing._

E: _Hmm. Maybe you should bring up the fact that we spill a lot of stuff in this chapter._

M: _Well, you just did. Fine. If you don't want to write, I do. I OWN THE PEN! Hahahaha..._

_Two Weeks Later; _**(A/N; This is where the two weeks later thing came in people. Sorry there about that...)**

**Chapter Seventeen; True Love**

Madeleine pushed a few branches out of her way, her footsteps softened by the thick piles of pine needles. Edward was in front of her, not really caring whatever he was stepping on. Madeleine had counted three stones that he had stumbled over, two tussocks of moss, and five mushrooms. He obviously wasn't concentrating.

As for his partner, she took extreme care, making sure that she didn't step on any of the things that Edward had stepped on. If she slid off a rock and snapped her ankle, it could be the death of her. She paused for a few moments too sometimes, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. She could smell the salt on it. They were getting closer to the sea.

"Hey Mads! Look at this!" Edward waited for her the last few steps, smiling. She already knew what he wanted to show her.

When she reached the edge of the 600 foot high cliff, Madeleine was still awed by what she saw. She could see _everything_. And saying that wasn't an exaggeration. The forest stretched out in both directions as far as the eye could see, but out in the distance, almost imperceptible except for the dirt road that led to it, was the mountain, and the town of Gibraltar. They still had a few days worth of traveling to do.

Above them, dusk was just starting to set in. Purple, pink, green and gold, highlighted the sky. And in the east, the first little stars were beginning to show their heads from a blanket of light blue. On the horizon, maybe a three days journey, a little glimmer reflected off light just before it reached the sky. They _were_ close to the sea.

"Wow." Edward breathed, having eyes for nothing else. Madeleine made a mental note to show him the White Cliffs of Dover sometime.

"It's always amazing," She echoed Edward. "Every time I come up here."

There was complete silence until five stars came out in the sky. Madeleine glanced at Edward. He was no longer focused on the view before his eyes, but deep in thought, biting his lip sub-consciously. She wondered what he was thinking about, and then she grappled with the idea of Michelle and how to make better apple tarts.

"Madeleine?" Edward whispered, breaking the silence. "Have you ever, well, had a, proposal?"

"Oh sure." Madeleine snorted, "Only about ten."

Edward's face suddenly fell. "Did... You accept any of them?"

"Would I be here right now if I did?" The seventeen year old shot back.

There was silence.

"Madeleine," Edward breathed again. "Would you... if- Wel... Madeleine." He seemed to steel himself. "I know Gideon isn't here. And neither is Olivia. So I'm going to ask you. M- Madeleine Cahill, will you marry me?"

There was such a look in his eyes, of hope. That with her answer, they could become more than just friends. Madeleine felt the love in her own heart pounding to be let out. Itching for her to say 'yes', just so they could be together. But it wasn't possible. It just wouldn't fit. "Edward," She looked down at the ground, afraid of what she was going to say. Afraid of what she was going to do. She could feel the words clogging her throat, wanting to be let out, but scared. "Edward we can't." Madeleine looked back up into his eyes, and they held a single question. "I love you too, but it's a cliff I can't jump off. It's too high, and I can't see the bottom. I don't know if there is a bottom, or if I can land right, or if someone will catch me. I tried jumping off a cliff once," She swallowed hard and continued. "And I thought I could see the bottom. It was flat, and sturdy, and I knew if I could land just right, that nothing would be better.

"But when I jumped, the bottom turned into mist, and that gave way to rocks. And I was shattered Edward. I picked myself up, and I put all the pieces back together, but it's like I'm fragile. And if I do that again, I'll really break. I'll never be able to pick up the pieces. And I'll be shattered forever.

"I can't do that Edward. If we're caught, we're _dead._ _Dead_ Edward. Can't you understand that? Our lives are precious Edward. Why don't we just enjoy what we have, and stop reaching for more?"

There was absolute silence.

Two people stood facing one another, looking into each other's eyes. But Edward's expression began to darken, and then he started to shake his head. Slowly, then faster, keeping his eyes on Madeleine's the whole time. "No." It shook even faster. "No, forget what I said." His eyes were glistening, not evilly, like Luke's did, but with the expression of a person who was hurt. "No. Madeleine Cahill it's not you can't, you _won't_."

The words were flung out firm and powerful. And they cut through Madeleine like a knife. Even Edward? "You use to jump off any cliffs you could find!" He snapped. Madeleine had never seen Edward angry. Annoyed, maybe. Upset, maybe. But not like this. Not when his blue eyes turned so cold that they were glistening chunks of ice. "You use to push away people so you could go jump off cliffs! And all of them had pretty rocky bottoms!

"I understand what you've gone though." He hissed. "And I know you told me never to tell you that, but I am. Because I do. You're feeling sorry for yourself!" Words snapped like whips in the air. Madeleine took a step back. "For a day is fine, for a week, is fine, but _not_ for five years! _NOT_ for the rest of your life!" Madeleine stepped backward again, and she was afraid. She didn't know this Edward.

"I can't marry you," She whispered.

"_I don't want you to_!" He roared, eyes flashing fire. "I want the girl that dared to do what _she_ wanted! I don't want a _coward_!"

The wind started to pick up and Madeleine's traveling cloak started to whip around her face, her black curls with them. "I'm not a coward Edward." She whispered, biting her lip. Her eyes radiated the hurt that stung in them. The betrayal. Even Edward had turned on her. And just when her heart was starting to open up.

"Yes you are." The voice that replied was cold, hard, and flat. "Look at yourself Madeleine. I had to practically drag you into the river. And then you were so afraid you wouldn't even let go of me. I _loved_ the girl that you were. And I was hoping she was still there, but she isn't. And I can't love a coward." Edward's blue eyes began to pierce everything. Madeleine felt her world start to shatter and collapse. "I can never love a coward. I _don't_ love you Madeleine. Forget what I said." Edward breathed, "I never asked a coward to marry me. And if you do remember; _damn_ what I said."

There was a second where he paused, looking into her eyes. And Madeleine stared back into them, hoping fervently that he would say something. Renounce all that he'd said before. Tell her that he did love her, and he would never love anyone else. But he turned aside.

Edward began to walk away. And Madeleine could see her heart going with him. Even though he'd yelled at her, even though she had been a coward, it didn't stop her heart from following him. It was like Edward had it on a string, and wherever he went, her heart followed. "Edward," But he gave no notice to her, as if she'd been a gnat. "Edward!" He didn't turn. He just walked into the forest. Away from her. Like she didn't even exist.

Madeleine stumbled forward and clutched at a tree, digging her fingers and nails into the bark. Clinging to something so she wouldn't slide away. Edward was gone. She could see his retreating back, going deeper and deeper into the forest. His head was held high, but she could also see the hurt. She could see that she'd cut him, just like he'd cut her. It was like they were meant to be together. But, they weren't. They couldn't be.

Madeleine felt a tiny drop of water trickle down the base of her nose. She brought her fist up and wiped it away. And then she realized what it was. Another tear trickled down. And another, and another. Until she was crying. Really crying. And it was over what Madeleine never, ever thought she'd be crying over. She was crying over a boy. Over Edward. And it was because she couldn't have him. She was crying because she loved him.

Slowly, her grip in the tree's bark loosened, and she crumpled to the ground, still leaning against the base of the tree. But as she cried, the wall that Madeleine had put up around herself, began to tear itself down. One brick at a time, until she was the same Madeleine that had decided to go and work in the fields because her Father was sick. The wall had been put there so nobody could love her, and so she couldn't love anybody. And so she would never get cut again. But love tore it down.

Madeleine wiped away the last of her tears and stood up, biting her lip. It seemed different, the forest, the sky, all of it. Maybe the sky was brighter, or maybe an eastern wind was blowing in fresh air. But she felt different. She wasn't being weighted by a wall inside of her. She was filled with almost a kind of air, that lifted her and let her soar. It was a feeling she'd almost forgotten. It had been so long. And Madeleine laughed.

It felt so good just to be able to laugh again. To be able to let all your worries float away. To not be thinking about what was going to happen next, or how long it was going to take to get from one village to another. Life was too short to be worried about those things. Madeleine realized, leaning against the tree. But this time, she was happy. Edward had been right. She was feeling sorry for herself. And life was far too short to be feeling that way. _Edward._

An idea hit her, and she tore off her cloak, a smiling beginning to show. Her eyes sparkled while she ran, laughing with the pure joy of allowing herself to run again. To not have a single care in the world.

She stumbled plenty of times.

It was five minutes till she found Edward. Madeleine crept up on him slow, not making a sound. She watched him too. He was sitting down on a stone, leaning against a pine tree, looking off into the distance._ How annoying._ She thought for a moment. And almost gave herself away by laughter. She had changed attitudes so quickly. Sad, to glad. _Sad to glad_. _Ha._ Madeleine picked up a pine cone and felt it's weight. _It'll do._ Madeleine flicked her wrist and threw the pine cone as hard as possible.

It hit Edward squarely on the side of his head.

_Never lost my touch._ Madeleine thought proudly. She ducked behind a tree before Edward could see her.

"Hey! Who's there?" Madeleine grinned as she heard Edward get up and take a few steps. "Come out!" In reply, the seventeen year old sent another pine cone flying through the air. It hit Edward on the shoulder. "Whoever's there, stop it!"

Madeleine couldn't stop herself. She laughed.

"Ah, ha!" Edward raced around to where Madeleine was. But as soon as he was there, Madeleine wasn't. Only her laughter remained.

* * *

Edward was slightly annoyed, slightly worried, and slightly scared. He was more curious that the other options, and in front of all that, he had just proposed to the girl he loved. Got turned down by the same girl. Yelled at that girl for turning him down, and her laugh was just like whoever was tossing those stupid, hard pine cones at him. It was a very long day by anyone's standards. Edward was exhausted. "Well whoever you are, stop throwing pine cones!"

Edward turned around to sit back down. _I shouldn't of yelled at Madeleine. _Edward thought. _She was scared out of her wits. And maybe she was just giving me an honest answer. Maybe-_ Another pine cone hit him on the head. "Hey! I said stop it!"

"Why should I?" A laughing voice shot back.

Edward leaped to his feet. _That sounded like Maddie! _But it couldn't be her. Madeleine had said herself; she was too afraid to do anything because she was 'fragile' and she didn't want to break. _Fragile, skim-agile. _And then there was another laugh. Edward knew it instantly. He had never forgotten that lighthearted 'air' laugh. Not the one that Madeleine laughed. He couldn't even forget it if he wanted to. Not after five years of dreaming about it.

He started to race one way around the tree she was behind, thought better of it, and went around the same tree in the opposite direction. She just happened to think that he was coming the way he had started to go, and Madeleine ran directly into him. Edward caught her arms quickly, not letting her get away. "Let me go!" But her eyes were sparkling, laughing in their own unique way. The nineteen year old blinked. This was the girl that was crying not five minutes ago, about being 'fragile'?

"Madeleine Cahill," he breathed. "What's going on?"

All the fight suddenly went out of Madeleine and she blushed, looking down at the ground. Edward caught it and turned a light shade of red too, but he didn't let her go. "I-I was teasing."

"I don't deny that. Even though those pine cones hurt. But where in the world did that come from?"

"Edward," Madeleine bit her lip and glanced up, but her eyes flickered back down. "I want to say 'yes' now."

"'Yes' to what?" The nineteen year old was slightly confused. Which was shrinking his problem down to size.

"If, your offer's still up, I-I, I _will_ marry you Edward. And I promise I'll never be a coward again." She stared into his eyes now, swallowing hard, trying to be brave as she leaped head-first over a cliff with no bottom.

Edward couldn't believe his ears. She was saying yes? But-but- He gave up trying to find words to say anything. For once, the 'sharp tongued' Edward was speechless. Then he found the perfect words. "Madeleine Cahill, you amaze me." He leaned down, and gently tucked one of Madeleine's loose, black curls behind her ear.

And then he kissed her.

* * *

M: _Hmm... I remember that. Do you?_

E: _Ha. How could I forget? I've probably still got those bruises you gave me from those pine cones._

M: _Bruises don't last five hundred years._

E: _Love does._

M: _Oh, so now you're going to get sappy on me? Nuh-uh. No. That's my pen! Stop trying to take it away! Go eat those brownies I baked!_

E: _Two hours old brownies?_

M: _Think about it this way; They were fresh out of the oven... two hours ago._

E: _Yeah right. That doesn't change the fact that they're cold now._

M: _I offered them to you at dinner, but nooooo. You had to eat all the chicken casserole and finish off the potato salad, and-_

E: _That's why it's called dinner. You eat._

M: _Like I don't know that? You should of been more observant and looked on the counter. Besides, I can't blame you if you're going to be a pig._

E: _INSULT! Alright, let's get off this. My hand's getting cramped._

**

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**I thought that the part where she went after Edward was rushed. I knew it was, but I've been trying to cover as much ground with this story as possible, and I'm going back to fix my mistakes later as you'll probably see the most of the following chapters.**

**Daddy! by the awesome queen of the 39 Clues archive was nominated in the miscellaneous category. I'm toast. I'm up against Amy, and Troubadour 12, and all the other famous authors that have been on the site for at least 6 months! I've been on... Two months? Maybe? Just like Peter said the the third book- Toast. Crispy.**

**Question; Is everybody... Okay, with this? Was I too sappy?**


	21. And This is My Fiance

**People actually liked the last chapter! I was pretty amazed! I was waiting for a super-mad flames. **_**THIS STUFF IS CRAP! Why the h*ll are you writing this sh*ty piece of f***ing junk?**_** Or something sort of along that line... Well people liked it! I'm glad. I am glad that you enjoy it. Because you know if you enjoy it, YOU MAKE ME ENJOY IT TOO! *Lapulta grins widely***

**Joelle8; Seriously? YOU ARE AWESOMENESS! There is absolutely no way that you can even convince me for a smigit of a second that you are not awesome. Nope, nada, none.**

**Oo! You liked the cupcake! Here! Have some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies too! They're right out of the oven. *hands Joelle8 a heaping platter of cookies* Go ahead. Take it. It's Thanksgiving anyway... We've got lots.**

**Yeah, I guess you're right. Sappiness must be included somewhere in a story somewhat. It isn't really a story without it. But I did try to keep my sappiness to a limit. Heaven forbid, I have Maddie slip off the cliff, Edward saves her and she falls into his arms fainting and murmuring something about- umm... Murmuring something. Yeah. Heaven forbid. That's just- weird, and gross, and Mary-Sue, and... weird. Who ever came up with the idea for calling an out-of-line person Mary-Sue anyway? I think it just sounds weird. Why not call it OOLC (Out Of Line Character?) Oh well, I think that'd be something cool to look into. Not that you have to do it or anything...**

**Alexandra; You are smart... You are awesome... You are great... You are right... *continues chant endlessly***

**And I'm sorry about your name. I'm typing all the review replies on my other computer so it's all done by memory. I didn't remember how your name was spelled exactly. My apologies.**

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* * *

**

M: _Ahh, the interesting concept. And no, you can't sneak any more cream puffs._

E: _You don't make those anyway... Jane does. She makes them better than you did too. They don't have that crispy edge._

M: _Insult!_

_Three Days Later;_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Eighteen;**

"**And This is My Fianc****é****..."**

"So," Edward leaned against the hitching rail, watching Madeleine make sure that her straw hat was tugged safely down over her pinned-up hair. "Remind me why we're here. Just because you met this lady a gazillion years-"

"Five," Madeleine interrupted.

"Five years ago. That doesn't mean we have to go tripping all over the world just to meet her. Besides, it's not like Luke's ever going to go a-l-l the way through Spain just to find us. There's a million villages and I'll bet there's even more cities. We'll be safe for the rest of our lives here."

Madeleine gave him a be-realistic look. "I'd give ourselves six weeks at most. Any more time would be dangerous."

Edward shrugged, "Whatever you say Mads, but still. I think we're good."

"And remind _me_ who has been playing this game longer. You, or me."

"Fine, fine." Edward straightened up. "I give in. But you still have to explain to me why we're here."

"Is it a crime for someone to introduce their Fiancé to their old friend? Hmm?" She sidled up to Edward, eyes laughing. He couldn't resist and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm lucky that no one's on the street right now." Madeleine murmured and pulled away. But she squeezed Edward's hand as she did so. In her tunic, people _definitely_ wouldn't take kindly to the two of them being together. Madeleine started up the steps to Michelle's resturant and walked through the door.

"... Who's that?"

"... weird, looks from out of town..."

"... Why are they here?"

Madeleine had learned Spanish, and Edward too -a minimal amount, but enough- and they caught glimpses of the conversation as they walked up to the front counter. Edward behind Madeleine. She sidled up to the edge and poked her head over the five foot brick wall separating the kitchen from the tables.

Michelle was red-faced and sweaty, just like the last time Madeleine had seen her, but for once, she didn't seem in a good mood. "What you want to order?" She pushed a head-full of straight brown hair out of her eyes as she kneaded dough like her life depended on it.

"Depends," Madeleine shrugged. Edward stared. Was she trying to get them thrown out?

"Hey, listen up boy," Michelle stopped her kneading and looked directly into Madeleine's eyes. "I've got a line. And apparently, you're in the line. And if you're in the line, then you order something. Got it?"

"What happens if you didn't know you were in the line?" A few people behind Madeleine started to snicker.

"THEN GET OUT OF IT!"

Madeleine almost jumped back at the roar. Michelle obviously didn't recognize her. She wouldn't do that. Michelle had already gone back to her kneading. Edward was ready to go. "Michie, wait. Don't you recognize me?" Madeleine still kept her 'disguise voice' though.

There was a quick glance up. "No."

"Come on, look closer."

She got a disgusted glare from Michelle. "Alright. I don't know you, but really, if you want to make yourself a fool out of it, step around here so I can examine you closer and _prove_ that I don't know you."

Madeleine obliged, stepping behind the counter where none of the other people could see her. Michelle stomped up to her, brought her face within six inches of Madeleine's nose, and again, proclaimed that she didn't know her.

"Sure?" Madeleine didn't move.

"Absolutely positive."

Madeleine took off the straw hat and let her hair down.

It cascaded down to her waist in little rivulets, like thick black water. Michelle could only stare. Then she blinked, and it seemed like a person who had slept three years just awakening. "_Madeleine?_ No..." But there was no way Michelle could deny it. Madeleine began to smile, then laugh, eyes twinkling at her joke. And then Michelle was laughing too. Both girls had no clue what they were even laughing at. "But how in the world did you get here after five years?"

Madeleine could see that Michelle had forgotten about being hot, and tired. That was a good thing. You could never work better than when you had forgotten those two little things. "I find ways to get around. And I never forgot my promise. I never forget promises."

And Michelle laughed again. "I never forgot you either girl. I've still got your dress in that old room you use to sleep in. You won't fit it now. Girl you've grown!"

"Ahem," Edward made a slight coughing sound behind the counter where he was looking over the bricks. "I'm kind of left out of the reunion."

Madeleine smiled, "Edward, this is my friend Michelle. Edward, Michelle. Michelle, this is my fiancé Edward. Michelle, Edward." Michelle gave a little curtsy, bobbing her head. Madeleine's smile turned into a grin. Seeing the two hundred pound Michelle managing a curtsy would be enough to make a cat laugh, but Madeleine managed not to.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Edward walked from behind the counter and gave a short bow to Michelle, who giggled. "I was starting to think about sticking a brick in Madeleine's mouth -edgewise- to make her stop talking. It was getting to be that big a problem."

Madeleine gave him a laughing-glare. "Alright, alright, I get the portrait. Michie, do you have a dress I could borrow? I only have my French one..."

"Right-o. Come on in here girl..."

* * *

Five minutes later, Madeleine was dressed in one of Michelle's too-small dresses. It was red. Which complemented her, and the hair ribbon she was wearing. The way her hair was done didn't match, but Madeleine had never cared that much about how she looked anyway.

Edward was standing beside her, talking, and constantly getting in the way. Besides snitching far too many of Michelle's cream puffs which added to his growing list of kitchen offences- "No! No more! I told you once and I'll tell you again!"

Edward still managed to pop the cream puff into his mouth with Madeleine's flailing arms around him. "Wis wa, wa wad fwing! Whir wood!" Edward cursed himself for taking so big a bite. He had to swallow the treat and repeat; "It's not a bad thing! They're good!" Still dodging his fiance's flying fists.

"Well I did say _no more_! There is a limit you know!"

"Maybe I'm giving you a compliment!" They glared at each other, laughing inside, but not letting it show. Michelle strode between them.

"Alright, break it up you two. Edward, go find something to do. Madeleine, I can't make those apple tarts like you can. Will you help?"

"Sure." Madeleine's eyes laughed as she turned away from Edward, who snitched another cream puff when she wasn't looking. Then decided to go out back. He had to look for someone anyway...

* * *

M: _YOU ATE THAT CREAM PUFF?_

E: _Ahh, well, I just said I did, didn't I? Why are you asking me if-_

M: _I SPECIFICALLY told you NOT to eat them, and what did you do? YOU ATE THEM!_

E: _Whoa, calm down there. This was five hundred years ago. Cream Puffs won't last that long..._

M: _Memory does, obviously..._

E: _Alright, alright, alright... Let's get to bed. And, if you want to... I guess we can continue this discussion later... Maybe..._

**

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**

**I was actually planning to do something bigger with this chapter and I probably will. I just remembered what I was going to do right now, but I was making it short since I wanted to skim ahead and get to the next part. I won't say what it is. Madeleine would kill me. So this is sort of the rough draft of this chapter. Once I get back to it... If I ever do... Then I'll add a funny part that I thought up and I just loved. Oh well. You'll have to wait.**

**Question; Should the marriage be straight forward? Or should it have interruptions? I've already got the chapter written out, so it doesn't really matter, but once again, I thought it best to get a statistic.**


	22. Wedding Troubles

****

Dear People of ,

(How do I address this?) Due to the unfortunate problems with my vulgar and extremely un-complying computer writing program, I have lost all that was going to put on this site.

Anyway, let me cut to the chase. There are two computers in my house. One that is connected to the internet, and one that isn't. The one that isn't, has all my writing material on it, including Forgiveness, and everything else that I've written. On the jump drive that I transfer everything from one computer to the other, is the Internet Copy of Forgiveness. The differences in the story are this; Forgiveness has the normal writing without the italic lines of Maddie and Edward. The Internet Copy of Forgiveness is where I add the touch-ups before I put it on the internet. Hence the name.

So with that said, my brother went and did something to the computer. He shut it down without saving it- or something. So what happened, was the Internet Copy of Forgiveness got ruined by my computer program. I can't pull it up, and I don't have a back-up file on my computer with the actual writing of the italic parts. Basically, I've only got the writing for Forgiveness. Not what you were/are reading.

And then; I'm going to have to write all the italic parts up again. It really sucks, because I can never remember anything that I've written. I know I'm going to try and make it sound like it was- but it honestly makes it sound crappier when I do that. So be prepared for not-really-funny italic parts. Well, it wasn't that great a loss. The italic parts I'd written weren't that funny anyway. But there was the Twilight part. Now _that_ was funny...

****

Miranda Cahill of Conte; Lol! I was laughing for 30 minutes after I read your review! Luke coming in... Oh man, I can't even type. Okay, no, that's not going to happen, although it WOULD be hilarious if it did. Blowing everything up... Hm. How would Maddie and Edward get away?

Jo; To be honest with you, I feel exactly the same way. That chapter was just a random fragment of my imagination. The real reason I put it in the last chapter - I forgot when I was writing it. Maybe I'll delete it. But it's actually is useful to introduce Michie to Edward. Not that they need a nice intoduction to each other...

Your 'awesomeness' is not a matter of opinion. It's the dead-line truth. Althought I understand why you don't think so. I wouldn't be continuously denying my own 'awesomeness' if I didn't. All authors are better authors than we are, right? At least, I know all authors are better authors than me...

I know! Mary Sue is a weird name anyway! Why not call it, uh... Bad Blitz! Or something along that line... Bad Blitz is a pretty bad name too. Why not - Mega-off-line! *ROTFL* Anyway, I agree with you that it sounds weird. Why not April? Madeleine is a bit April-ish. Seriously, why did they have to call it an actual name...

Alexandra; Awesome story? Well... Okay, I'll relent a little bit. This is one of the best stories that I've come up with so far.

PT88; I kinda thought the cheese puff part was sort of lame... But okay! As long as it makes one person happy...

Straight forward wedding... Hm... It is pretty straightforward if you- chop out any part that isn't really straightforward! *giggles*

Incendiarist; Thank you! I really try to reply to all of my reviews. For some reason it sort of makes me feel closer to my readers. Like they actually like my story. Me? Sweet? Um... I don't think I'll answer that...

WOW! 150? I need to go check those out. Yeah, I don't really get mad. And I don't see why anyone would hate you. Envy I can see. Hate- not so much. I don't really hate people either. I'll tease them to death, but I don't hate them. And if anything, you spark in me... AWE! Plus the only time that I'd hate a person is if they insulted my friend/friends. If you do that- beware of the insane figure skater with just-sharpened blades and a toepick on each one! MUHAHAHA!

I am Demented... I remember that name from somewhere. I thought she was really good...

YEAH! I'm not the only one that's not a fan of Twilight and HP! Glory be! *begins dancing around crazily...*

(I feel so embarassed right now...) What the POV 2nd person suppose to mean again? I've forgotten, and I can't remember it for the life of me. I'm so sorry...

Question though. How did you find out I replied to your review if you didn't read chapter 2-18? I'm just confused as bad a you...

Everyone; You know what? I was trying to pull up my story again and a sign popped up on the computer. It read; 'Fatal error'. FATAL! Get it? Anyway, I thought that was funny. I'll let you read now...

* * *

E: _So, do you forgive me for the cream puff incident?_

M: _I shouldn't..._

E: _Well, technically you should, but you're stating something entirely different, and-_

M: _I'm part Janus. You don't have to go that far._

E:_ Okay, okay. Well, whoever's reading this right now may want it clarified._

M: _Fine. Oh, and just to tell you, I recruited a new person to help with the writing. I almost forgot. He's suppose to be here by now..._

E: _Who? And I thought this story was just suppose to be between you and me. We were the ones writing this._

M:_ Ahh... He's coming. I'd better start showing him the ropes._

E: _WHAT? You invited LUKE to WRITE?_

M: _Is there something wrong with that? You do know that he's looking over your shoulder. Right? Or are you too absorbed with pretending to dip your quill into the inkwell?_

L_: Uh... Hi. What are we doing? I brought my own pen, you don't have to bother._

E: _It's Mr. Crash-the-party._

M: _Ahem. What we do here, Luke- I'm talking to Luke, Ed. Is write before the chapter what we're thinking and sort of put a summary on here._

L: _I've got no writing experience, but technically, this isn't really a summerary._

M: _You spelled that wrong._

L: _I'm not a Janus. I said that already. If you wanted a writing expert why didn't you recruit Jane?_

M: _J-_

E: _Jane's not in this story, and you still aren't a main character._

M: _I WAS TALKING! Thank you. Anyway, I am the author, Edward is the editor, and Luke is my co-author. And yes Edward, Luke is a main character. We're all main characters._

E: _WHAT? THAT'S NOT FAIR! I'M QUITTING!_

M: _Whoa! You can't do that! I'm the author! I say when you're fired!_

E:_ I'm not being fired, I'm quitting._

M: _Alright then, you can't quit until I tell you you're able to be. Meanwhile, Luke, you wait while Edward and I write our pieces, and I'll tell you where you can come on in._

L: _I'll follow along... Oh, and what you already put-_

M: _Shh. Write._

_

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_

**Chapter Nineteen;**

**Wedding Troubles**

Both Madeleine and Michelle stood over Michelle's bed while Michelle tried to pull an enormous white thing out of her top, closet shelf. The last rays of the sun tried to beat through the roof relentlessly. Not giving up, even though there were just a few more minutes before the moon came out. Finally, the white thing was laid out on Michelle's bed with both women looking over it.

"It's beautiful." Madeleine murmured, running her hand over the tiny stitching. The dress _was_ beautiful. There was no one, not even a person in the future who could say it wasn't. The white silk billowed out and around, mixing the French and Spanish styles. The sleeves were connected on the bottom with the laced up bust in the front that ended in a V. The sleeves went down to the elbows with six inches of white, hand embroidered lace on the ends. And the skirt was covered with intricate embroidered pansies.

"It was my wedding dress." Michelle whispered back. "I don't know why I've kept it all these years."

"So you're _married_?" The younger girl looked at the older one in surprise.

"No, I was going to be." A rough, weather-beaten hand stroked the soft cloth.

"Can, I ask what happened?" Madeleine looked at her friend, wondering. "I don't mean to be nosy or anything like that. But..."

Michelle sighed, "It was the plague." She whispered, "It killed them all. Only I was left. It hit just a day before I was married. Henry was dead before nightfall. I never even got to wear it once."

There was utter silence. Madeleine started to squirm. She suddenly felt uncomfortable here when memories were so much alive. "I'm sorry."

"I just miss him. Especially on rainy days. When it's like the day he died. It reminds me of the entire heavens opening the flood gates and all the angels crying for him. But even then, I know he's there, somewhere. Watching over me. I can feel it."

"Why did you bring out the dress then?" Madeleine murmured. She figured that Michelle must of had another reason. She didn't like pity heaped upon her anymore than Madeleine did.

"For the past to be useful, it much be used in the future. Don't you think?"

And what Michelle was doing clicked in Madeleine's brain. _Oh no, she can't do that! She-_ "Michie no." Madeleine shook her head. "You can't. It's_ yours_."

"For the past to be useful, it must be used in the future." Michelle repeated and picked up the dress by the sleeves. She placed it up against Madeleine's throat, measuring and pressing. "It ought to fit you. I never got as fat as I am until later."

"But Michie..." Madeleine tried to find some way to wriggle herself out of taking it from her friend.

"Don't 'but Michie' me." The woman shot back. "Every girl's going to get married sooner or later, most likely. And everyone of them's got to have a nice, sensible wedding dress. I know you and Edward are in a hurry. And it'll take you weeks to make one. You wear mine. Consider it yours. It's my wedding gift from me to you. And then you can skip on out of here."

"What if _you're_ going to get married?" Madeleine shot back, "You'll need a wedding dress too!"

"Lord child, I'd have to make myself an entirely new one anyway. I'd never get one leg into yours."

_Yours. Michie can't do this! She can't just give up her past, and Henry like that!_

Almost as if she had read her mind, Michelle took a step back from Madeleine, crossed her arms, and stared hard at her. "And don't you go around thinking that I'm forgetting Henry or any of that mumbo-jumbo. Besides, that wedding dress can remind me of him, but it'll have nothing but tears. All the memories I got, are all locked up away, right in here." Michelle tapped her chest lightly. "And I could never forget that lad. "Now get out of that dress you're wearing and put this on. I want to see if I really was that thin back then."

"Thank you Michie," Madeleine slid her hand over the wedding dress. "So much."

"Well that's what friends are for, ain't it? Get out of that dress girl!" Madeleine grinned.

_

* * *

_

_The Next Day;_

"I can't breath!" Madeleine craned her neck and tried to look over her shoulder, gasping for breath as she did so. Every time she exhaled however, Michelle pulled the draw strings to Madeleine's corset tighter. To Madeleine's great relief -and pain-, Michelle finally tied the strings tight, slid the white dress over Madeleine's head and grabbed a tape measure.

"Hmm..." Michelle nodded in pleasure. "Sixteen inches around. It's a town record. Emily has seventeen inches, and Elizabeth has seventeen and a half, and Jose has an _eighteen inch_ waist! And she's only fifteen!"

"I don't care if it's the world record!" Madeleine snapped the best she could, considering that she couldn't even fill up her lungs half way. "I don't care if I've got the tiniest waist in the universe! I want to be able to breathe! A wedding is suppose to be a happy occasion! Not a time to die from suffocation!"

"Alright, alright," Michelle took off the dress and loosened the drawstrings. She made sure not to let them out too much, and then she tried to pull a fast one on Madeleine by tightening them again, but it didn't work. Madeleine held her breath so she could be sure of getting of getting her lungs full of air. "Sixteen inches..." Michelle muttered under her breath.

"I'm good!" Madeleine finally threw her hands up in the air as she and Michelle argued about how tight and how loose her corset should be. "Edward won't care anyway! And besides, he's probably almost here!"

"But if you look nice he'll be stunned."

"Is looking nice having a tiny waist? Edward won't even recognize me!"

"Oh please... You'll live. It's just for one day. Furthermore, I've got to get back to my resturant. I can't go around being your lady-in-waiting all day."

"I didn't ask you to be." Madeleine rolled her eyes.

"Correct! I'm here out of the goodness of my heart. So, since I've got to get back, I'm going to let you be fat-waist-ed and look like a rouge. Edward probably won't even notice-"

"Hey!"

"-And you can do whatever you want. Enjoy." Michelle rolled her eyes and started for the door. Then she stopped; "And Maddie." Madeleine nodded. "Congratulations, and remember everything you can about this day. You want to have the memories for the rest of your life." There was a last smile, and then Michelle was gone.

_Finally!_ Madeleine thought, and then instantly regretted it. Michelle was only trying to be nice and help, but still... _Free at last!_

Struggling to reach the drawstrings tied behind her, Madeleine untied them and let herself loose. She could_ breathe_. Then she took in a breath of air and pulled them till her corset fit her form nicely. _Perfect. _Madeleine carefully picked up her wedding dress from where it lay on a church table, and slid it over her head. Michelle had been right. It did fit her perfectly, and, it looked beautiful.

Walking over to the side of the room, Madeleine stood in front of a mirror and stared at herself. She almost jumped. She rarely saw herself in a mirror at all and with the dress on, she could barely see the girl that was always there. _Oh well, it doesn't matter. Edward's going to be here soon anyway._

She grabbed a comb from the table and began to run it through her hair, counting with each stroke, all the way to one hundred. Then she slid her long hair through a circlet and looked at herself again in the mirror. _Nice enough. The priest won't care-_

"Ah-em."

Madeleine whirled around. Michelle stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, examining her. She looked amused.

"I forgot to give you something. And I saw- Are you going to wear your hair like that?"

"What's wrong with it?" Madeleine shot back, hands flying to protect the way she had done her hair. She didn't want a single strand touched.

"Will you let me help you?" Michelle sighed disgustedly. "I saw Edward coming around the corner! And trust me, wearing your hair like that is going to do nothing for your marriage."

"Edward loves it like this!"

"Hand it over." Michelle waved her hand toward the comb, but Madeleine grinned and snatched up a tiny pen knife on the table, holding it close to her locks. The threat was clear enough. Michelle stopped dead. Madeleine set the knife back down. "You're stubborn enough to give indigestion to a goat. You know that, right?"

Madeleine shrugged, "I do now." Then she turned back around to finish her touch-ups. Figuring that Michelle wouldn't dare move.

"Alright, turn around and hand me the comb." Madeleine suddenly felt a heavy hand on her hair. She saw a knife being raised up to her black locks. And she dutifully handed over the comb. Having your hair cut off just before you got married was going to do _nothing_ for the remaining years of her life. If she had any. Edward would never let her hear the end of _that_.

Madeleine watched as the circlet she had so carefully put in her hair was yanked out, and her hair that she had so carefully combed, was split, carelessly, but with great skill into six parts. Michelle began to weave the pieces in and out of each other, splitting them, then blending them back together, making a beautiful, complicated mat out of her hair. She stopped half way down, gathered up two loose parts on the side, and looped them around the back so Madeleine's hair almost curved into a circle.

It was amazing. Even Madeleine had to admit that. It was much better than just combing and putting the circlet in. And maybe, even Edward would like it. "Give me that circlet." Michelle took it from Madeleine's hand and wrapped it around the middle of the woven hair. "Now. _Now_ you can look at yourself. And if Edward won't like that, then I don't know what he will."

Madeleine looked, and she almost jumped again. More so than before. Her hair hadn't been pulled back tight before Michelle had started weaving it and a few small loose curls had wriggled their way free. But with the curls hanging there, it almost gave a relaxed look to the picture. One that showed all that Madeleine had wanted it too. Michelle reached out a hand behind Madeleine and flicked the rest of her waist length hair over her shoulder.

Everything was perfect. There was no way it couldn't be.

"Edward's coming," Michelle smiled. "And I've got to go. But good luck."

Madeleine turned around to look at her friend, and her throat immediately clogged with tears. She had helped so much. The seventeen year old threw her arms around the larger woman, "Thank you Michie. So much..." And the other words were drowned out.

"Girl! Don't go throwing your arms around me! You're going to get yourself all dirty! And don't you start crying neither! This is a wedding!"

Madeleine tried to smile, but her alarm inside started beeping, soft, but still, something wasn't right. "I will. And I'll never forget you Michie. I promise."

Michelle leaned forward and gathered Madeleine's hands in her own. They were hard, and rough, from years of work. But they still had a tenderness in them. Of gentler days. "Henry would of wanted everything like this." She whispered, "He loved to say that. 'For the past to be useful it must be used in the future.' You can't turn anything down that I gave you. It's the way he would of wanted it. And besides, it won't matter to him. Whatever-"

"- Whatever you did he loved you." Madeleine finished her sentence, a rather sad smile start to show. "Because he loved you the way you were. And you will never love anybody like that again, because no one can replace that. You can't replace love."

Michelle nodded slowly for a moment, and the two people stood there, looking into each other's eyes. Finding that perhaps, no matter how far apart some people were, they were still the same inside. Then there was a creak and a thud of a big, heavy door opening and closing. Michelle looked up, "Good luck Madeleine." And then she was gone.

Madeleine numbered Michelle as one of her few, true friends.

* * *

E: _Ha! Dude, we are so lucky..._

M: _Oh shut up. And I see you behind my back. That's not funny. And if you want to complain about the injustice of tight corsets, that's fine by me. I welcome the argument with open arms._

L:_ Open arms? Pray, explain..._

E: _She's saying that it'd be completely weird if we complained about corsets and not her._

L: _Whoa! I didn't mean _that_!_

M: _Oh come on, I know you didn't. And there is no complain station for corsets. I made that up._

L: _Yeah, I knew that I was just... thinking about something different..._

E: _Right. I _really _believe that. And I thought you were suppose to be the person who could think up plausible lies. Write Maddie. Or we're never going to get done with this chapter._

* * *

Madeleine Cahill had never known that church isles could be so long. And the fact that Edward was ogling at her like she was an alien from Mars didn't help either. And neither did the fact that the priest was standing in front of the pulpit with eyes boring through her. There was no denying it. Madeleine was nervous.

In fact, she was so nervous that she began stumbling slightly over the hem of her wedding dress. There were all too many stares, even from four eyes. So she focused just on Edward, and immediately, everything else fell away. Michelle had been right. Having someone who loved you, and you loved them whole-heartedly back. Well, there was no replacement.

_

* * *

_

_Crazy, senseless, looney, stupid-_ Madeleine could think up so many words to describe what the priest was saying. Or more like droning. _Why doesn't he just get it over with?_

She looked up at Edward again and she saw, in mild surprise that his mouth was moving slightly. He saw she was watching and gave her a wink. Then continued to mouth the same thing, over and over. _Words!_ Madeleine thought! And slowly but surely, could almost hear what he was saying in her head. _"I'm bored too."_

Madeleine practically grinned, which would of spoiled the wedding ceremony completely. She started to move her mouth to form the words she wanted as well. Edward watched. _"So am I. Maybe we should do something funny."_

_"Uh huh. Like what?"_

_"Throw marbles over the floor. Trip the priest. Take my wedding bouquet and start throwing flower pedals over each other-"_

_"No."_ Edward's eyes were laughing though, contradicting his statement. _"Do you see that guy standing three feet away from us? He'd go nuts."_

_"Put him to sleep for an hour."_

Edward's mouth started twitching. _"Forget it Mads."_

_"Please? Please, please, please, please..."_

"I do." Madeleine almost jumped. She had entirely forgotten that both of them were suppose to be taking their vows. _Punishment for him taking so long..._ She thought -like she could mentally brainwave a thought to someone- to the priest.

_"I didn't tell the priest our names."_ Edward was mouthing. _"I thought it best not to."_

"And Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill, do you take this man-"

_"I thought you'd said you didn't tell him our names!"_ Madeleine's alarm started beeping, louder now. Her eyes flickered frantically around the church. Light sent huge spaces of checkered white and black shining over the floor. It looked like any other place than one that someone would launch an attack, or kidnaping. But Madeleine wasn't reassured.

_"I didn't."_ The sides of Edward's mouth twitched down now, his eyebrows turning slightly inward for a frown that could hardly be called a frown. _"But he didn't know mine, he only knows yours."_

Madeleine flushed. _"I wasn't listening."_ And then the priest paused. Madeleine took it as her cue. "I do."

Edward fought an enormous grin and the priest glared witheringly at her. "_Madeleine, Elizabeth, Cahill._" The priest began from the beginning of the vow all over again. "_Do you_-"

And Madeleine realized that she had butted in the middle of the vow, right when the priest had been taking another breath. She couldn't help it. She began to giggle. Edward had to grin. And that led to her laughing. And Edward laughed. Until they were laughing so hard they had to hold each other up. Neither of them noticed until five minutes later that the priest was long gone.

"And so that's that." Edward finally finished, looking at the door. "Five minutes. Well, I guess I got what I paid for."

"What did you pay?"

"Six hours of work," His eyes twinkled.

"That's not that much," Madeleine was mildly impressed. She thought it would take a lot more.

"Well, five minutes is pretty cheap too." She caught his joke and they shared grins. "And it's all over. Did you get any memories?"

Edward laughed, "Only that I was bored, and you were bored, and someone was droning on in the background. I think they were talking about marriage vows, and then somebody interrupted and cut whoever was droning, short-" They both doubled up laughing.

"I'm glad Michelle isn't here." Madeleine finally breathed. "She would be so mad at me right now it would be unexplainable." Edward just smiled, his eyes vacant. He was thinking of something else. "Alright, what is it?"

Edward reached behind Madeleine and flicked her woven hair over her shoulder. "What happened to my ribbon? You had it in Paris."

Madeleine flushed, and her eyes flickered down to the ground. "I think I lost it when we were swimming. I looked for it that night, but I didn't want to go back."

Edward shook his head and stuffed his hand into his pocket. Then he looked up before he'd pulled, whatever-he-had in his pocket, out. "Close your eyes."

"Ed..."

"Come on, close them."

Madeleine did as he asked. "Can I open them?"

"Hang on! Give me a second... Almost, there. Alright, open."

Madeleine opened her eyes, but didn't see anything different. Edward was still there, standing a few feet away, and nothing seemed out of the norm. But his eyes were twinkling, laughing. Like he was hiding a secret. Which he was, obviously. "What is it?"

"Guess." A small grin started to spread across his face once he was unable to hide it any longer.

"I don't know, a game? A joke? Tell me." Edward pulled his fist out of his pocket, but didn't open it. It was something on a string, a yellow string, and he wouldn't show it. "What's the point of you giving me a gift if you won't let me see it?" Edward rolled his eyes and opened his hand.

It was her locket. The same one he'd given her five years back. The string was new, but Madeleine didn't have to pop the clasp to know that her portrait would still be inside. "You kept it," She breathed. "After all these years."

"Why shouldn't I of?" Edward picked up both ends of the string and held it to her neck. "May I?" Madeleine nodded, speechless, and lifted her hair so he could tie the ribbon.

"But- but _why_?"

Edward motioned her to come closer, and then he dug into his pocket again. "Would we be here, if I didn't give you that? Or this?" He pulled out a red, silk ribbon. "Just don't lose this one. Shall I do the honors again?"

She nodded, and then waited while Edward reached behind her, pulled out her circlet, and began to undo Michelle's complicated braiding. She felt it when he'd finished, and tied his ribbon in their place. "No," She finally managed to breathe, shaking her head. "No Edward. We wouldn't be here. Thank you."

Madeleine reached up, slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.

Somehow, this time, no firecrackers went off. It was almost like the first day of spring, a slow warmth, creeping easy, but steady through everything until all the world was completely covered. Madeleine wouldn't of moved a muscle if she would of been paid the entire city of Paris. She was perfectly content where she was.

And yet, there was still a time when she had to let go. Madeleine kept her eyes closed, trying to hold onto that one perfect moment, Edward's chin resting on her curls. And then he let go of her, half laughing. He dragged her over to the first bench on the right hand side of the church and they sat down. Words passed back and forth, flowing freely. Nothing mattered to the couple -at least not to Madeleine- what was said, as long as the happy mood reigned.

It did.

_

* * *

_

_I'm tired._ Madeleine snuggled closer to Edward, trying to figure out what time it was. _It seems late. But it's probably not. Does Edward know what time it is?_ Madeleine's thoughts were so random, and so spontaneous that they could hardly be called thoughts. _We've been sitting here for a while. How long? Four hours, at most. My foot's falling asleep. What makes your feet fall asleep? What can you do to stop that from happening? That feels like pins and needles. Does Michelle sew?_ The seventeen year old found her eyelids fluttering down, and then back up, fighting the enemy of sleep.

"Do you want to go back to Michelle now?" Edward's words seemed blurred, like he was passing in and out of a fog. But Madeleine shook her head. She didn't want to go. Didn't want Edward to leave. Not even for a little while.

And then something changed.

Madeleine sat bolt upright. _What was that?_ She couldn't be sure. She didn't even know what she'd seen, or if she'd seen it at all. It was almost like she'd felt. But maybe it was just the sun, just the leaves of the maple tree outside the church, waving in the wind. It was probably just some rat trying to find any crumbs left over. But Madeleine's alarm started beeping, and it wouldn't stop.

_That's just great._ Her eyes flickered around the room, looking in all the crevices and shadows. There was no one. Nothing. The church was empty except for her and Edward. _So why?..._ A figure caught Madeleine's eye. It was engraved on the wall. Lightly, just barely visible on the wood. But it was still there, and unmistakable. Two snakes, facing away from each other, wrapped around a sword with it's hilt up.

A million puzzle pieces clicked together in Madeleine's mind even though she'd never seen the figure before. She scrambled up from her seat on the bench, feeling almost like a frightened sparrow, flying the coop. "Edward we have to get out of here."

"Whoa, Maddie. Why-"

The big oaken doors at the front of the church opened and a laugh filled the place of Edward's words. It was harsh and cruel, with a tint of haughtiness that could only belong to one person. Madeleine's heart almost stopped. She had been right.

Luke Cahill.

* * *

M: _OMG! You've got a part! Cameras, Lights, ACTION! See Ed? I do know some text language..._

L: _Isn't that suppose to be Lights, Camera, Action? Not, Cameras, Lights, Action? It just sounds weird..._

E: _Who cares? Let's just get this over with ASAP._

M: _What does that mean?_

E: _Ugh... Luke, spare me the expense of explaining and write._

* * *

Luke took his time striding up the isle. He could plainly see fear on Madeleine's face, and it fed the fire inside of him. _Not Madeleine,_ He thought. _The Murderer._ She was the one that was responsible. She had set the fire, which had spread to the roof, which had collapsed, which had killed his parents. He could see the boy with her. _What was his name? Oh, Edward._ They had passed names back and forth often enough while he had been spying on them.

He was rather proud of the spot which enabled him to see directly into the church right from the pulpit. It didn't even matter if the priest was preaching. Being underground worked wonders. But wonders wouldn't kill Madeleine. He felt a smile begin twitching on his face. He was going to enjoy this day.

"Sit down, sit down." Luke said the words in a tone of authority. He knew what he was saying, and he also knew what he could do to back up his words. Madeleine and Edward sat. Luke noticed that Edward's arm was wrapped around Madeleine's waist, and he was glaring at him. Daring him to do anything. What a pity the poor boy was probably going to be eliminated soon. If he had as much character as it looked like he did, perhaps his sister hadn't made such a bad choice after all. _Not sister,_ He corrected himself. _Murderer._

"I was hoping that our little reunion would be soon. I thought about Paris, but it seemed you preferred Gibraltar better. It was a good thing that I had this ready."

"What ready?" Madeleine snapped back.

Luke was already armed with the answers to all questions. Quick, bitter replies. It eventually equaled silence. "Why our little reunion place. I'm sorry, I thought you would of known." He knew Madeleine hated to be put down worst of all.

He was correct. Her glares doubled, and her fists clenched tight. "What do you want?"

"Nothing that isn't... How do I put this?" Luke brought up one side of his mouth in a smirk/smile/sneer. "Equal, correct, compensative. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Isn't that the saying?"

He watched as the murderer's eyes widened. "Luke, leave us alone."

"Give me five good reasons why I should." He felt along the cobble stones for the loose brick. Now if he could just get the timing right when she was leaning forward...

"Please. You can't do this."

_Oh can't I?_

Luke brought his foot down on the loose stone. Hard. It gave under his weight and he felt all the mechanisms working underground. _3... 2...1... Game Over._ The leg of the bench that Madeleine and Edward were sitting on crashed to the ground. A hole 7 bricks wide, and 7 bricks long, collapsed inward. The bench seat created a slide, and Luke could clearly see the terrified expression of Madeleine as she slid head-first into the ten foot drop to the stone floor below.

A sly smile spread over Luke's face. He moved from his position, leaned over and pulled out fifteen bricks and a package of already made mortar from under a bench. The people of Gibraltar would never know what happened.

* * *

E: _You are so lucky that you're even sitting in your chair right now. You know that, don't you?_

L: _It was 500 years ago. And yes, I have noticed. In fact, I was mildly surprised that you didn't throw me out of the house when I was writing the first paragraph._

E: _I probably would of, but I shut my eyes and I'm not reading anything. You said that last sentence aloud. The pen started writing before you started talking too... What did you write there?_

L: _What the?- Uh... oh. Got you._

M: _Will you guys quit it? This is why I wasn't going to include anyone else into MY story. They make a mess of it. This is suppose to be an ending. Not a tacked-on, annoying conclusion._

E: _I've still got my eyes shut. Am I writing in a straight line?_

M: _No. In fact you're writing all over what I just wrote. But I forgot, you've got your eyes closed, you can't read this. Ugh..._

L: _Hmm. Maybe we should just ditch him and hide somewhere in the house with Wade and let him go bananas. That'd be hilarious. And then we could put cameras on the walls..._

M: _Do you guys_ purposely_ try to annoy each other to annoy me?_

L: _Yes._

M_: Oh God... My own personal hell on earth..._

L: _You should be happy. It's your _own,personal _hell on earth._

M: _I ought to throw you out of the house. It's not too late for that._

E: _Is everyone still there? I only hear pens._

M: _Let's ditch him and hide. He deserves it. Well, actually, can you grab me a glass of water before we go do that? This will probably take a while and I'm thirsty..._

L: _Sure, hang on..._

M: _Ha. Let's see how long it takes them to find me... Boys..._

_

* * *

_

****

It's funny. I really don't like cliffhangers. I can't stand when someone chops off a Chapter in the middle of a sentence of something like that. I need the chapter to be completed. Like something was finished. But I really like this cliffie. It's awesome, and one of the few I have in this story. Enjoy! And enjoy biting your nails off...

****

Question; Who likes Luke now? Do you think he killed Madeleine? Do you like Luke evil? Do you think the italic parts are tacked-on annoying conclusions? Does Edward really quit writing?

____

~Lapulta~


	23. Luke and Lucas

**I. Don't. BELIVE THIS! I'm like- three chapters away from finishing Forgiveness. I've got the whole scene planned out in my mind. AND WHAT HAPPENS? I GET A STUPID WRITER'S BLOCK! I. Am. Seething. Right. Now. Please. Avoid. My. Wrath. So, OMG it's Rice, my awesome beta said something. She said it's scary I have that so many ideas I can write a 40 chapter fanfic. I agree with her. It is very scary. I have so many ideas that I'm never able to write them down. YET (rampage is now inevitable) I AM NOT ABLE TO FINISH THREE STINKING CHAPTERS! Three. Stinking. Chapters. *makes hundreds of Death Star-blowing-up noises***

**Okay. Now I feel better. Just ignore my little yammer-on and continue reading my LONG author's note. I feel so mean right now though. I mean- I want to know if you were sitting in your house, **_**desperately **_**wanting me to continue the story? Hm? But I just had another thought. You already knew Maddie didn't die since she's writing with Edward. Duh. *begins slamming head on wall to improve mentality* And now for all those long reviews that my insane mind forces me to reply to...**

**Incedarist; That's actually pretty funny. If I don't think the fic was good, I don't go back at all until maybe a million chapters later. And then I go- OMG because the person's writing has improved so much. Then I write out a REALLY long review in apology and feel REALLY bad for the next five days. I never would of checked for a review reply because as you said- people rarely reply. Check one of the multi-chapter stories in the fandom that are actually finished. It's not The White and Black Bird. I reviewed the first few chapters, and then like the last two chapters. I was so shamed those last chapters. But I think the author got a good beta too...**

**Oooo. I was thinking about that. 2nd person is crazy hard. Why would you even want to do a fic in 2nd person anyway? How does that add anything to the character? I'm just thinking about my beloved 3rd person. 3rd person ominicent can add so much to the story. Why switch?**

**LOL! That's hilariously funny. Mary-Sue is still stupid though. But it makes sense now that you've explained it. Thanks a lot!**

**Flowerspot; *cough cough* No offence, but WHY would I have a picture of Maddie's wedding dress on my profile? I'm really not one to surf the web to find a wedding dress to fit the standards of what I want. I'm too lazy. So to answer your question, No. I do not have a picture of Maddie's wedding dress on my profile. *grins sheepishly* P.S. I'm not like Stephanie Meyer who took pictures of Edward's car, and all the stuff in her book. I'm WAY too busy to drive around and do that. Wait a second. I can't even drive can I... Pity. The road would be so much nicer with a 13 year old behind the wheel... *grins again***

**Jo; You might want to read what I wrote to Incedarist about Mary-Sue and what she said about the reason it's called that. Copy and paste that here.**

**Don't worry. You know how people don't even really bother to read the lyrics in song-fics? Well, that's kind of what I figured. Don't read it if you don't want to...**

**And um... BEAN SPILLER! No. Maddie doesn't die. She's like- way too awesome for that to happen. Even if she came like- this close to death *holds up thumb and index finger close together* I'd have Edward die or something with Maddie on top of him. Not her. WAIT ED! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT! *Lapulta runs away chasing after fuming Edward...* Oh, and I just realized something. No, Madeleine has lots of heirs on her head. I don't think she will be going bald any time soon. *rotfl***

**Alice; Yes, I agree that Madeleine is a little bit Mary-Sue. But heck. Don't you think she has enough problems in her life? I'd like- be at the commiting-suicide level if my wedding got interrupted by my brother who wanted to kill me. Geeze... But you like Luke, Katie, Tom, and Jane? Wow. They're suppose to be the bad guys. But okay. Whatever you say.**

**Li'miss sunshine; So do I. I like the new Luke. Not the old one. Don't worry. *grins***

**Obviously...**

**Semi-evil. Okay. That's reasonable. And true. I still had him have a conscience.**

**That's good. I have a lot of fun writing the italic parts! So I'm glad that you enjoy reading them.**

**Okay. With all that said, let's go on. I don't want to keep you on this all day.**

* * *

**L: _This chapter is insane. Why do we have to write this?_**

M: _Because it's important and crucial to the story. Do you want to write it, or not? The next part you come in is around Chapter Twenty-six._

E: _Ha. Now she's going to boot you out when you don't have to write. Like she did with me._

M: _That's not true! You ousted yourself!_

L: _Who cares? Lets get this over with._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Twenty;**

**Luke and Lucas**

Madeleine felt herself falling. It was a never-ending fall. And then a floor of bricks came up closer, and closer. And then everything went black.

_Wha- What happened?... Where am I?... Edward._ Madeleine pushed herself up onto one arm. A splitting headache hit her and a mirage of little yellow and blue dots swam in front of her eyes. She felt like she wanted to throw up.

Madeleine looked around. She was in a room, about 10 feet from the stone floor to the ceiling, fifteen feet from one wall, to the other, and at the end of the Western wall, a hallway jutted off. She guess that it ended with a locked door. Luke wouldn't of just stuffed them in here with a clear way to get out. Edward was lying nearby, a few feet away. He was knocked out. Madeleine could see a lump starting to form on the back of his head. She lifted her hand and felt her own head. She had one too. Great. So much for a wonderful wedding to remember.

Reaching down into the dress' pocket, Madeleine felt around for the live-forever vital and her Father's list. It wasn't there. She spread her hand out and felt every inch of the pocket's lining. There wasn't a hole, so it couldn't of fallen out. There was no stain on the dress, so it was impossible to say that she'd broken the vital when she'd fell. But what about the list? That just didn't hop out of your pocket.

Madeleine scrambled up and began frantically feeling the floor. She had to find those things. She _had_ to. It was too dangerous for anyone to have!

"Looking for something?"

The seventeen year old stopped dead. They were the same words from five years ago, but a different tone, demanding, ridiculing, poking fun at her. Hating. Madeleine decided not to have the same discussion that she'd had with her brother five years ago. "Yes. I am."

"Going to do something?"

Did he remember that conversation? Madeleine faced the Western wall and forced herself not to look at him. She had trained herself to look everyone in the eye when she spoke and to not do that almost killed her. "Yes. I am."

"What?"

"I-I, I don't know." Madeleine spoke the truth. She _didn't_ know. Usually ideas flooded her brain allowing her -at her leisure- to pick one and escape. But none were there. Her mind was empty. Oh sure, there were ideas, but none of them would allow her to escape with Edward safe, her with the vital and list, and most importantly, her with her life.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

Madeleine didn't want to turn around. She didn't want to see Luke's cold, glittering eyes staring right through her. But she had to. A sudden remembrance entered her head. Madeleine, and her Father, standing outside, looking up at the stars.

'_What would happen if Luke had that?'_

Madeleine didn't want to answer that question. She already knew it. The seventeen year old swallowed hard and turned around

* * *

Both Luke and Madeleine were slightly surprised. It was mostly because neither of them had really seen the other for five years. At least not face-to-face. But both of them tried their best not to let their surprise show to the other.

Madeleine -a tiny processor in the back of her mind working- was only wondering, not letting her expressions show. Luke could of almost been called handsome if he didn't have the look on his face that he did. He looked the same from five years ago, except perhaps, older, and he had a few lines around his eyes, but he still had his jet black hair, the same as Madeleine's, and the look in his eyes saying he hated her. That hadn't changed.

For a second, Madeleine thought that perhaps she had seen a flicker of something else though. Something other than hate, and bitter venom, something that said they could just be brother and sister again. The hate hadn't budged, but there was_ something_. A tinge of respect maybe, or even a sliver of acceptance. The hate in them over-powered though -ran everything else over in a deadly path of destruction. And then the look was gone as soon as it had come. And Madeleine had to wonder if it had just been her vivid imagination, wishing for something that wasn't there.

* * *

Luke was so startled when he saw his sister that for a moment, he forgot to hate her. The rage and hate conquered the out-of-line feeling quickly, and he checked himself, but he couldn't hide what he had done a few seconds before. That changed everything. He couldn't let it happen again. In the bit of heart that Luke had left, like everybody's, had exceptions. He knew that in the deepest part, he would never let himself kill Madeleine. He frowned and steeled himself. The vital he held in his right hand suddenly felt like five hundred times it's normal weight.

For Luke, Madeleine looked different. Very different. She had always been one step ahead of him, her fearful eyes always peering over her shoulder at him. He had seen her so many times, but it was always in part, never in full. A few of her black curls had slipped out of Edward's ribbon and they framed her face. His sister's large, green eyes stared up at him, half in amusement and half in horror. _Like Lucas. Too much like Lucas._

Luke mildly wondered if Madeleine thought that he was suppose to speak and if Jane had changed as much as Madeleine had. He hadn't seen her for a while. "What do you have?" Madeleine finally whispered. "I just need the two things that were in my pocket."

"These?" Luke held up the list and the vital, the former, glowing it's constant purple. A vague memory itched at his mind whenever he looked at it, but he pushed the thoughts away.

"Those are mine!" His sister desperately flung herself at the items, but Luke sidestepped and her hands missed their target. "I need those!"

"Why?" He felt his mouth start twitching into a smile. In her carelessness, she might let the real reason of why she was carrying the things around on her wedding day, slip out. "It does seem rather odd that you had them here. Notice that I said _had_."

"It's none of your business!" Madeleine spat, eyes flashing in anger. There was something she was trying to hide though. He could see it. Luke's brain started to work on the problem even though he was trying to focus on the task at hand. _Hate? No, that's not it. Annoyance? Nah..._ He turned down each of his thoughts until- _Pain. That's it. Pain._ Now that he knew, Luke could see the emotion written clearly over her face. With Edward, Madeleine's outer shell had cracked, and everything was slowly leaking out, showing the inner part to the world.

"Pardon, but pretty much everything about you is my business."

"Not. Now give those back."

Luke almost grinned. He was reminded of a child he had once seen with a piece of candy. The child's sibling had been scowling just like his sister was. But this was more important than a piece of candy. "Why should I? You never answered that question."

"Because- because-"

He could see quite clearly, that his sister was at a loss. She knew the answer he wanted, but she was smart enough to not tell him. And that created the spark that lit the fire. "Why? Tell me!" He barked.

Madeleine's eyes flickered to the vital. "If I tell you, will you give them back to me?"

Luke thought for a moment. He already had the argument planned out in his mind, and this was not the path that it was suppose to go on. But he could see what his sister was trying to do without even a hitch. It wouldn't make any difference if the cart went a _little_ off the path. He decided to let her figure out the road he wanted her to go on, and for her to decided if she wanted to walk off it. Besides, it would cover up the mistake he had made earlier. "I thought that two items would be enough trade for a life."

Madeleine stared at him. It was a look of desperation, and indecision. Luke could see she was torn. She didn't want to give up the vital, but it was impossible to give up her life and everything she'd just gained. There was a hint of puzzlement too. He wasn't sure what that was for. "It doesn't have to be you." Luke nodded in the direction of the unconscious Edward.

He watched her eyes widen in horror. "No- No." She turned away, shaking her head, "Fine, keep them. But you can't hurt me. Or Edward."

"What do they do?" Luke snapped, "You didn't tell me."

"That wasn't part of our agreement." A smile formed in the corners of Madeleine's mouth, and her eyes twinkled as she looked over her shoulder back at him. Luke hated how his sister could always tear his arguments to pieces. She was right. He had never said that she had to tell him what the vital and the list meant- regardless of what she chose.

"Fine." Luke pocketed the items and started walking to the Western wall where it jutted off into the hallway. He turned to the door, unlocked it, and began to shut it behind him when he stopped. He had set up the door for it to automatically lock again whenever it was shut. But then there would be no way for Madeleine and Edward to get out. He frowned for a moment, his foot stuck in the door so it wouldn't close. And then he nudged a brick aside with his foot so the door would be caught open. He scowled at the room where the other two people were before he left. _Nuts, and I thought..._

* * *

"So you're sure that you're fine." Edward stared hard into Madeleine's eyes.

"That's the third time you've asked me that. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't fine, then I would of said so by now." Madeleine rolled her eyes, tired of repeating two words over, and over again.

"I know you." A tiny smirk slid across his mouth. "And you don't holler."

"Should I holler just to spite you?" The two of them looked at each other for a moment and began to laugh.

"Alright," Edward turned away and spun around, examining the room, "So how do we get out of here?"

Madeleine was stuck. She wanted to get out just as bad as Edward, but if Luke were just waiting nearby... She suddenly shuddered involuntarily. "We could try and get out the same what we came in."

Now that they looked, both of them could see stones and bits of mortar around them, lying on the floor where they'd fallen. But when Madeleine looked up, the hole they'd fallen into had been patched with new mortar and brick. They were locked in. Her eyes started to cross the ceiling, trying to find another hole, and she pointed to the corner near the door where two boards met. "Look."

Edward looked. He didn't see anything worth enough to point at. Or was she talking about the big black spider on that top knot? He decided not to point it out to her and have her freak out. "So?"

"The room. It was made with everything in mind. And it must of been done quickly. The floor of the church needed to be moved to put those beams there so the bricks wouldn't fall. And then-" She spun around on her heel, pointing to other beams and bricks that Edward had thought were just... there. "-Must of been changed to anyone could go right inside the pulpit and spy. Quite an ingenious plan, if I do say so."

"I think Katie was right. You can be too smart for your own good. Were you even speaking French? Or was it Pig-Latin?"

Madeleine glared at him. _Pig-Latin indeed!_ _What nonsense._ She looked around the dark room some more. "Well, we could try and go out the door, but it's risky."

"Who cares?" Edward shrugged. "Risky is my _name_."

"Yeah," Madeleine glared at him again, and she spoke drily, with no interest whatsoever. "Edward-the-Risky. I can see that."

"Good." Edward turned the Western corner, saw the propped-open door, and held it open, waiting for Madeleine. She paused before she got through the doorway.

"It might be dangerous."

"You're right." Edward grinned and bowed low. "Ladies first."

* * *

E:_ Ha. Yeah, I remember that. Ladies first._

L: _That makes absolutely no sense. If it's dangerous, then why?..._

M:_ It's called a practical joke. Something that you probably wouldn't understand._

L: _Hey!_

E: _Okay, before we get into a random rampage, let go and do something productive. Like write._

* * *

"This is amazing." Madeleine took a few steps out the door and ran her left hand along the wall of the hallway. She recognized it as one of the stronghold plans that her and Luke had talked about before everything had... happened. It was simple, but with a design that could be easily complicated and enlarged.

Oil lamps lined both sides of the hallway, although the left side was bare except for a single half-circle nook. The right side had three doors. All three were closed. At the end of the hallway was a staircase with a few steps leading upward. A way out. But of course, Madeleine didn't chose the easy way, she wanted to explore. But still, she couldn't really explain the pull that urged her to open the door. So turning to the right, she pushed open the first door and stared.

It was an arsenal room.

A little late, Madeleine complemented the fact that it probably wasn't a good idea to step into an arsenal room with a person who wanted to kill you, running around. But that didn't matter. Arsenal was cool. No matter what the situation.

"Whoa!" The seventeen year old marched up to the wall and grabbed an enormous jeweled sword and started swinging it around. It was so heavy that she had to use two hands to keep it from touching the ground. The entire room was like that, with new and old items hanging on the walls. Some with plaques next to them describing their use. They all looked sharp and dangerous. _Awesome._

Edward's eyes practically popped out of his head. "Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill! Put that down right now before you go and slice your own ears off!"

* * *

E: _You know, in the second book that Gordon Korman wrote -he's a Janus. That's what Nellie said to Dan._

M: _I'll bet Dan was smarter than me and didn't put the sword down._

L: _So THAT'S why King Arthur's sword was tweaked! The rubies on one side were scratched up! Madeleine...!_

M: _Hey, relax there. It was five hundred years ago. Besides, it wasn't like the blade was ruined or anything. Was that really King Arthur's sword? I thought that was a myth..._

L: _Well the guy that sold it to me said it was..._

M: _Oh God... Gullibility these days..._

E: _Well, technically it was back then. So you would say, 'Gullibility those days...'_

M: _Who cares? Someone pulled your leg pretty hard Luke._

L: _Pity. Well it was cool while it lasted._

* * *

Madeleine promptly dropped the sword on the stone floor with a clatter and tugged a fencing dagger off the wall. She dropped into a fencing position and began to 'fence' with an imaginary opponent. Edward yanked the dagger out of her hand just as she was about to demand that all her lands be returned to her. "Hey! No fair! Now I've got to die!" She doubled up gasping and clutching her chest as if someone had just stabbed her. "Wish me well!" And she collapsed on the floor. 'Dead'.

"Get up." Edward hung the dagger and sword back on the wall. "I'm not going to argue with your imagination, I'm going to argue with your mentality, and sanity, which I'm not quite sure is up to par. Get up before I have to yank you. Besides, you're ruining Michelle's wedding dress."

Madeleine jumped up and frantically started brushing dirt off of Michelle's dress. She had forgotten entirely about it in the self-made pandemonium. "Look at these though!" Forgetting about the dress again, she stared up at the walls. "Luke's got everything."

Edward just nodded. He didn't like weaponry. It made him nervous, like someone was constantly going to stab him in the back. And it could easily happen here. He watched as Madeleine walked around, glancing closely at things that sparked her interest. She stopped though in front of a large, metal tube, structure. It had a wooden -Edward guessed- handle that seemed it fitted against someone's shoulder somewhere. On the bottom, was a small piece of metal with another piece of metal around it. Edward couldn't imagine what it was for.

"Do you know what it is?" Madeleine glanced over her shoulder at him. He shook his head. Stretching on the tops of her toes, Madeleine reached up and pulled the object down. She almost toppled over with it's weight. Then she glanced at the plaque. "It's called a musket."

"Like a muskrat?" Edward snickered.

Madeleine frowned and ignored him. "It says that it can shoot a ball of lead for about a hundred yards. You put it in right here-" She pointed to the top of the metal barrel and Edward could see where you pushed something down. "-A light a wick to shoot it. AWESOME!" The howl echoed throughout the room and Edward guessed it could be heard down the hall. "I want one of these!"

"Forget it!" Edward yanked the musket out of her hands, placed it back up on the wall and began towing out of the room before she could see something else. He wasn't going to be surrounded by guns and swords and fencing daggers just because Madeleine thought they were 'cool'.

* * *

L: _THOSE WERE MINE!_

M: _Relax, you're going to break your quill like Edward did._

E: _Yeah, and both of us broke them yelling at you._

M: _You aren't yelling, you're writing._

L: _Writing-yelling. And those fencing daggers were state-of-the-art Spanish steel!_

M_: I knew they felt good for _some_ reason..._

* * *

"Hey!" Madeleine struggled against him, then figured that it was relatively pointless. They needed to leave anyway.

But once they were passing the second door, Madeleine couldn't resist and pulled out of Edward's grasp to open the door. She was disappointed. There was only a large, oak table in the middle of the room with four chairs surrounding it. _Rats._

Before Edward could start dragging her up the steps and out of the stronghold, Madeleine pushed open the third door. She heard Edward groan in impatience, but something drew her into the room. It wasn't really like the others. She couldn't explain it. There were a few things on the walls, but not a quarter as many as there had been in the arsenal room. And there was no table in the middle of the room. But in the upper right hand corner was a desk with a small book spread open on it. Madeleine stepped closer.

She could see writing in the book, and the quill and inkwell placed carefully next to it. There was an oil lamp, the only light in the room, in the other corner of the desk. Madeleine moved to a position just in front of the desk so she could read the writing. It was plain, but bold. A person wasn't afraid of anything.

Luke Cahill - November 29, In the Year of our Lord, 1514

* * *

L: _Madeleine... Elizabeth... Cahill... If you dared to set a finger..._

M: _Hmm. Read and find out._

L: Write_ and find out..._

* * *

Madeleine almost laughed. Luke was the first person on her list of -Never to write a diary. Or, maybe Thomas. But something in the writing stopped her. The words were written with purpose. With meaning. _That's today!_ She suddenly thought. And then there was Edward at her back. He had come in the room so quietly she hadn't heard him.

"What is it?"

Madeleine reached out a finger and turned the book so Edward could read it. He gave it one glance, and burst out laughing. "Edward! Shh!" A hand was quickly clamped on his mouth. "He'll hear you if he's still around here."

"I highly doubt that." Edward chortled, still half-laughing. Then he quit. "You aren't going to read it are you?"

"It's here." Madeleine's eyes began to twinkle as she reached for the book.

"But you can't do that! It's his!"

"Edward, look." The seventeen year old shot him a dead-pan stare. "He left it open. If he didn't want us to read it, he would of closed it. Don't you think?"

"I acknowledge your scrutiny, but no. You're splitting hairs Madeleine."

She shrugged and picked up the book and began to read aloud.

_Luke Cahill -November 29, In the Year of our Lord, 1514_

_Why do people take so long to prepare for weddings? I've been watching The Murderer and that accursed boy for as long as they've been in Gibraltar. Everything's ready and nobody knows anything. Only the wedding remains. What hogwash._

_Besides those facts, there are a few other matters that are beginning to need my attention. Nobody else is paying the least attention to what we should be paying attention to. The Murderer. Thomas has decided to leave for good. I haven't heard where yet. Katherine's letter is expected to arrive tomorrow. She'll probably tell me what is happening. Katherine herself decided to abandoned the chase in Paris, and I believe is living somewhere in Italy with her husband. In her last letter they were thinking about leaving for Egypt soon. Jane is somewhere in Greece practicing her ridiculous sculpture.. In their letters too, both of them said that they were with child. So much for asking them to help me. They probably won't move from their positions for a year or more._

_But what I want to know, is why all of them have to go so far. What is so important to them that they have to go scatter themselves all across the world to find it? The important thing is right here. Revenge is what's necessary. It's like nobody remembers our Father and Mother at all. They don't care. They don't care a whit that the seventeen year old that killed our parents is lurking around in Gibraltar somewhere. Why can't that go through their heads? What else is more important?_

_I swore an oath, upon my Father's grave, that I would kill the murderer who set the fire. Why don't the other's see that? Scattered all around this world. How are they suppose to kill a murderer a thousand miles away? I want to know how they're going to do that! Curse them. Besides, they aren't needed. Revenge is coming closer. I can feel it._

_If only everyone knew how sweet Revenge can be. Revenge for the right reasons..._

Madeleine swallowed. Hard. And then placed the journal back down on the desk. The knife that was trying to pierce her, couldn't, and there was only a dull ache and a throbbing in her mind. But those were almost worse than a fresh wave of pain. Something that you could cry for, and then push away. With an ache you couldn't do that. You had to suffer.

Madeleine felt Edward's arms curl around her, but the ache didn't leave. She didn't know if it would ever leave. It certainly didn't feel like it would. _The Murderer._ Madeleine wished she had tears to cry. It would feel so good to just sink down and sob. To cry like life was ending. Which, perhaps it was.

"Let's go." Edward whispered in her ear. But Madeleine was as death to it as a stick of wood. The words passed in one ear and out the other, not making any impact on her dulled brain. They were almost to the steps when she remembered something. The Nook. What was there?

Pulling out of Edward's grasp again, she turned around and ran to the nook. It also was empty, except for an enormous ivory carving, painted in exquisite detail. It showed two red snakes, wrapped around a sword. There was a small bronze plaque beneath it, with words carved into the metal.

Madeleine reached up and gently touched both snakes. They were facing away from each other, tongue and fangs bared as if they were hissing, and angry. But as Madeleine traced down the intertwined bodies, both snakes ended up at the same point. The two snakes, were really one. She felt a hand wrap around her waist and she leaned her head against Edward's shoulder. The lump in her throat barely allowed her to talk. "What did I do wrong?" She choked out. "I-I don't know what I did wrong. W-what did I do?" She closed her eyes and clung tighter to Edward. A small sob escaped her throat. "W-what did I do wrong?"

Edward didn't know how to answer. Comforting meant more bitter words and a harsher bite. So he didn't say anything. He just wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.

* * *

L: _I ought to give you an atomic wedgie! You deserve it! Meddlers..._

M:_ Dude, it was open. You should of closed it._

L: _YOU AREN'T SUPPOSE TO READ JOURNALS! Regardless!_

E: _That's what I told her. She splits too many hairs._

L:_ Darn right about that._

M: _Oh come on, let up. It was done five hundred years ago._

E:_ That's your excuse for everything. 'It was a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. Just go on and forget it.'_

M: _That's not true! Luke! Tell him that's not true!_

L: _You most certainly are right, O great Jedi Master._

M: _WHAT?_

E: _Now _that_, is what I call prestige... Yoda at your service._

M: _That's what I call a pain in the a**. Finish writing before someone here gets a banana pie in their face._

* * *

Once Madeleine had stopped sobbing, she looked down at the plaque, hoping it might contain information, like the ones in the arsenal room had done. But there were only two words engraved there.

For Lucas

"Who's Lucas?" Madeleine grimaced as she wiped her face. The back of her hand came away a dark gray. "I've never heard of him."

Edward began to fidget, which was a sure sign that he knew something. "I was hoping you'd tell me."

"Spit it out. I want to know."

Edward looked down at her, slightly biting the corner of his mouth. "I'm not sure... I only _think_ I know. It could be someone else. And the information is from a good... nine years ago. Not very recent."

Madeleine shot him a glance.

"Alright, alright, alright, you don't have to be so pushy! Here, we probably ought to sit down. It's kind of long." Madeleine raised an eyebrow as she sat down on the bricks, copying Edward. "Somewhat. It's not like, a book with a million pages or anything. I'm just saying that you might not enjoy standing up for half an hour."

"Skip to the story," Madeleine rolled her eyes. "I don't need an explanation of why you do the things you do. Which would be rather long, in fact. Begin."

"Begin talking randomly, begin telling the story or begin standing up for half an hour?"

Madeleine frowned, "I ought to let you figure that one out on your own. What do you think? Would I be sitting down here if I wanted you to yammer on randomly?"

Edward forced a smile down. "Perhaps."

"I'm politely asking you to start telling me who Lucas is before I die of boredom."

"You mean; before you leave in disgust."

"Quite right."

"Then are you saying that I'm right, and you're wrong? That's a first."

"Edward please, my limit is five more words till you lose me."

"Lions, Jump, Obnoxiously, Over, Madeleine."

"Good Grief! You annoy me!"

"You didn't have to say 'yes'."

Madeleine rested her head on her right hand and glared at him. "Don't remind me."

"Pity. So here goes. I'd just started working, and I was trying to figure out who the heck my employer was. Do you know that old lady that lives in the village? She's eighty something?"

Madeleine thought for a moment, "The lady that sits all day in front of her house, and everybody calls her Grandma? Yeah, I remember her. I use to think it was the funniest thing when she dropped a stitch in her knitting. I could sit there for hours on end watching her drop stitches and try to find them in front of her nose. It's still pretty funny actually. Continue."

Edward pulled his legs together and crossed them Indian-fashion. "You are the only person I know who thinks dropping stitches in knitting is funny. Good grief. So since she was always telling everybody she knew all the people around there, I thought I'd ask her what she knew about the Cahill family. I didn't really expect anything more than; Katherine has got blond hair. Or; Jane can play the harpsichord. Those were the typical replies."

"So what happened with her that it _wasn't_ typical?" Madeleine moved her bottom end around on the hard stones, trying to find a more comfortable spot. There wasn't one.

"Be patient. So I went up and I asked her, and she started laughing. You know, that old croon-prune laugh that's more like an evil cackle."

"Can you focus on Lucas? Not on you?"

"Will you let me get there?" Edward exploded, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I want you to skip a few parts and then continue the story."

"Unacceptable."

"Edward please!"

He glared at her. "No. You either listen, or I'm not telling it to you at all."

Madeleine glared back at him, then looked down at the ground, "Fine. You're lucky. Continue."

"Thank you. So when I asked her, she started laughing and said she knew everybody."

"Rather typical. She's eighty. What did you expect?"

"I expect silence while I'm talking! Thank you. Jeeze Mads. Then she asked me how many kids Gideon and Olivia had. I said 'five'. I mean, that was right. Right? But she started laughing again. She grinned without any teeth -I was mildly disgusted- and said 'six'." Edward glanced at Madeleine to see what she thought.

"But that doesn't make any sense!"

"I know. But hear me out. I thought it was weird too. She only started laughing, and laughing. I was thinking that she was the weirdest person in the world, but I only stood there looking like an idiot. It was probably a good think I'd asked her when I was that young. If I was any older I'd probably poked her knitting into her hair. I was that annoyed. And then she stopped laughing and said, 'Lucas. Everyone forgets Lucas. But I remember him!' And she started laughing again. I should of left then. She was starting to get crazier by the minute."

"She's eighty. If you ask her something, you're most likely going to wait a while for a decent answer."

"Agreed. Well, I waited there for about five minutes until she stopped laughing and grew serious. She motioned me closer like she was going to tell me a secret. She had seriously bad breath too."

* * *

M:_ I still can't believe, to this day, that you can remember what a person's breath smells like, but you forget to take out the trash._

E: _The trash is worse than her breath was._

L: _Both of you are meddlers. Remind me why I'm still sitting here..._

* * *

"Edward..." Madeleine gave him a 'be-realistic' look.

"Sorry! I'm just trying to say things like they were! And then-"

* * *

E: _An enormous green gecko fell from the sky and said that he wanted to save me money on car insurance!_

M: _Edward, people are starting to get mad at you. Write._

* * *

" -She said, 'would you like to hear the story?' I was pretty bored then. I didn't have anything to do, so I said yeah." Edward paused, "I don't really know how to explain this."

"Explain what?"

"Well," He picked at a bit of mortar left on one of the stones. "If I quoted exactly what the lady said, then it would sound really weird. And if I didn't, then it wouldn't be right."

Madeleine shrugged, "It doesn't matter."

"Alright," Edward heaved a sigh, thinking. "So according to her, Luke had a twin."

"A twin?" The corners of Madeleine's mouth began to twitch up. "Are you sure that she wasn't sitting out in the sun too long?"

Edward shrugged. "That's what she said. And she said he looked like you. Black hair and green eyes. And he had all the talents." Madeleine didn't laugh again, her eyes widened. "She said that they were inseparable. Wherever one went, you were sure to find the other somewhere nearby."

"But what happened then?" Madeleine breathed. The heavy silence of the dimly lit hallway closed in on her. She felt, for some reason, the past was starting to come alive. She pushed the feeling down. That was the last thing she needed on her mind.

"The plague swept through. Almost everybody died. The lady said that Gideon and Olivia didn't catch it since they didn't do anything. They barred contact from everywhere and didn't let any anything in, or out of the house. She said that Gideon made a serum for each of the children, taken from their blood, and so they had their specific talents, and they were protected from the disease. But he didn't have time to make one for Lucas. He did something, caught the plague, and died."

Madeleine couldn't breath. It was like the enormity of the passage and hallways, added with the dampness, pressed in on her. Cutting off her breath. She forced each breath that she took, in... and out... in... and out...

Edward watched her for a moment, then continued. "She said that Luke was brokenhearted. He wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep. But there was one thing that got him down the most. Before the plague came," He paused, thinking about what he was going to say. "Gideon went to town. He took the two of them with him. They were waiting in the back of the wagon, and an argument started. One of them wanted to rule the world, and the other one wanted peace." Edward began to rub his hand over one of the stones. He wiggled it around. He had never been the best storyteller, and it lowered his skills quite a lot to tell something he didn't want to.

Madeleine didn't say anything and Edward continued after a bit. "The lady said that Luke never forgave himself when Lucas died. He blamed himself for everything that had happened, even though it wasn't his fault. And then Olivia was with child again."

Madeleine swallowed hard and gathered a handful of cloth from Michelle's dress in her hand, squeezing it tight. The lump in her throat seemed to suffocate her. "Go on."

"Luke wanted desperately for it to be a boy, but- Well, you know the rest..."

Edward actually thought he saw a tear welling in Madeleine's eye. "It's my fault." She finally whispered, voice choked with emotion. "It's all my fault."

"Maddie don't say that. It's not true."

Madeleine shook her head back and forth, staring at the stones. "No. If I had been a boy I might be working in the fields. And then Tom and Katie wouldn't of had a reason to tell on me. And Father wouldn't of gotten mad. And I wouldn't of yelled at them. And they wouldn't of split apart. And I wouldn't of had to pull them all back together... It's my fault."

"That's not true." Edward crawled forward and grabbed her hands, making her look him in the eye. "That's not true." But she did have a point. Her logic was right. "You couldn't of made yourself been born a boy. And besides, I love you the way you are."

He felt Madeleine's hands grip his tighter, trying to gather back her courage. He saw her swallow hard, trying to push her fear back down. She looked up into his eyes and opened her mouth to say something. But suddenly, the dim oil lamps in the hallway went out. The two of them were left in darkness.

* * *

"What-" Edward felt a hand press firmly onto his mouth, checking the words that he wanted to say.

"Don't." Madeleine hissed, her voice next to her ear. "I think Luke came back."

Both of them froze, sitting on the floor. Neither of them moved a muscle. They could hear soft footsteps coming down the hall, the opening of a door, and the shutting of it. Both of them let out a soft sigh of relief. That was too close.

Edward grabbed Madeleine's hand and pulled her up. Then he started to take a step forward, but was pulled back. There was a bit of a shuffle, and then a boot was shoved into his hand. He realized what she wanted. Both of them took off their boots, and then began tiptoing down the hall, past the third door where Luke was at, and up the steps. At the top of the steps, there was a wooden door. They were underground, so the door was flat, flush to the level of the surrounding ground.

Madeleine lifted up her hand and pushed at the door. It easily gave. And then they were outside. Free. She shut the door softly behind them.

Edward's eyes met hers and a few chuckles began to escape. Then they doubled over laughing in the setting sun. "We did it." Madeleine laughed, grinning broadly.

"Sure we did." Edward's eyes twinkled. "But not without a price. Look at yourself."

Madeleine looked. Michelle's wedding dress was covered in dirt. Especially in the front, lower part where Madeleine had been on her knees. "You look just as bad." She shot back to the grime-covered Edward.

"Oh really?" They walked through the graveyard -which was where they'd come up- laughing. Neither of them noticed the man, watching them carefully. He was wondering, just _why_ exactly, had he let them go?

* * *

M: _Whoa! You were spying on us?_

L: _Mmmhmm. You both were so filthy you looked ridiculous. I don't know how you even managed to get back to Michelle's looking like that. I would of thrown you out of town._

M: _Well, technically, you caused us to look like that. So it doesn't matter._

E:_ The Lady's got a point -for once._

L:_ Good point yourself._

M: _Both of you, stop it. You remind me of a pair of cats and dogs._

L: _Wow! Imagination bling yo!_

E:_ Remember... Flower Power Lives On!_

M: _Oh God Edward... Don't start that up again._

L: _Flower Power Lives On... Isn't that Jane's username on ?_

E: _I teased Maddie about that for weeks._

M: _And he got a big punch in the nose for it too. I think we're done for today. As you for you Luke, you don't have to come back tomorrow. It's just going to be boring, uninteresting stuff about Edward and I._

L: _If I've learned _anything _about you and Edward, it's that your life was _never_ boring._

E:_ Fact._

L: _So why would you say your life was boring?_

M: _It doesn't contain you in the next three-odd chapters._

L: _Ha! So I made your life interesting! Nyah, nyah..._

M: _Let's continue this conversation off paper. It's going to get pretty long._

* * *

**Yes... Once again, I wrote a long chapter. Forgive me.**

**What about Lucas? Do you like him? Personally, I think Luke had a twin because one; he's so mean, and I need a reason to be mean... Two; because if you look at the crest for the Lucians, it's a double headed snake. The snakes are actually **_**a**_** snake and Luke's crest is the only one that does that. Why? It drove me so nuts that I had to put an explanation in here. So... Forgive me. I was driven by my insane mind to do it. Besides, now that he's in there, you're going to have to suffer because he's like- the main person in the sequel if I ever do the sequel. Plus he's a giant addition to the storyline. So suffer for me.**

**Question; Do you think Luke really is as bad as he seems? That's probably a bad question when I'm writing about him and Maddie arguing about 'who made her life interesting'... Oh! And how did you like the 'green gecko' and 'car insurance'? I think that's one of the funniest things I have Edward say... I still laugh at that... You have to imagine him saying that in a big bold tone with a British accent like the commercials. How did you like the parts that connected with Dan in the second book? If you've read all of the 39 Clues books as closely as I have, you'll get the three intended puns I hid in the text. I want at least four people to review and tell me the three things, I hid, or I WON'T UPDATE! One of them Edward stated, so it shouldn't be that hard...*grins evilly then walks off MUHAHAHAing***

**Hint; One of the puns is from the second book, and then the others are from the sixth.**


	24. Holland

**I'm starting to get past my writer's block, but I'm still having trouble. It's so annoying to be so close to success and failing. Oh well. I need help on the italic parts too. If anybody has ideas for about five lines of sarcastic comments, please help. You will get a percent of credit depending on what percentage of your ideas I use. Ha! Just kidding. You will get credit if you help. Don't worry.**

**Lil' Sunshine; Alright. I lied about the puns. I'm not going to wait to update. I'm too excited to see how you'll take the Holland parts.**

**PT88; Yes, I agree everything **_**was**_** really long in that last chapter. So I'm attempting to shorten everything down. Bear with me please. You've helped so much. As for Lucas, I couldn't exactly call him Jeff now, could I? *grins* Actually, I did realize the name thing. And Luke is short for Lucas. The thing is, I kind of wanted their names to be similar since they were twins. I couldn't think of anything besides Lucas. So that's what I named him. Wait a second, actually I did think up something. But it was Liefer. And I thought that name sounded dumb.**

**To the people who noticed 'vital/vial''; I noticed that around Book Ten. I am to blame for that mistake. The one and only. Once I finally get this story done, I will go back and fix all the little touch-ups that you've stated. So *sighs* be patient. I will get there eventually.**

**No, I didn't take Edward's quote from the song. Actually, I barely knew there **_**was**_** a song with that in the lyrics, but I just remembered it now. So to answer your question; No.**

* * *

E: _Ahh... Just us again. Back to the good ole' days._

M: _Sure, sure. Whatever you say. You start writing. Luke's looking over our shoulders too, so we're not entirely alone... But he promised not to write anything._

E: _He shouldn't..._

* * *

_Six Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Twenty-one**

**Holland**

"So, why are we in Holland?"

Edward jumped. That was the fifth time Madeleine had asked him that question. He had given her the same answer for all of them. _White lies_. But they were still partly true. His heart pounded. _She doesn't know. You're safe. _"Luke knows that you frequent Spain and France. But maybe if you jump out of boundaries a little, it will be safer." _Because it's my home._ Edward still felt a bit guilty.

"What are those?"

Edward followed Madeleine's finger to an enormous stone structure with wind turbines turning in the wind. Her eyes watched every movement in the new land, observing them with more interest than most people would of. "That? Oh, that's just a windmill." But Edward was bursting with excitement too, although he didn't dare show it. _That's the old Four Star windmill! Is Mr. Von Perkkrek still living there?_

Faded tulips lined the dirt road in heavy clumps, and bare tulip fields showed in the distance. It was a pretty picture. The fields, although drab brown, would be more beautiful in spring. Edward looked at the ones by the road-side with an expert eye. He wondered mildly if they had been watered recently. They looked rather dry. But then it was winter. They were all going to die pretty soon.

"I'm hot." Madeleine tugged at her dress a little. She always wore it when they approched a town. Like they were approaching Tiel at that moment. "You're lucky." She scowled at Edward. "You get to wear a tunic."

A horse and cart, loaded with items, passed by. Edward waved. "You could be a boy, but you'll miss out on a lot of fun."

"Fun?" Madeleine looked at him in disbelief. "You mean; I'll have a lot more fun if I don't wear this!"

Edward shook his head, smiling to himself. "The Dutch are different from the French." _Way different. I'm Dutch._ He finished the sentence in his head, but didn't say it.

"What do you mean 'different'?" Madeleine glanced at him. "You mean they don't care if I'm a girl?"

There was another shake of his head. "No, but..." He tried to think of the right words. "They appreciate jokes a little more."

"How's that going to help?" Madeleine rolled her eyes and turned away, but Edward felt her hand wriggle into his. She didn't mind the Dutch appreciating jokes.

* * *

M: _No, no, no, no. I didn't think that! Dutch people appreciating jokes more... Give me a break!_

E: _Hey, I'm writing these parts, remember?_

M: _It's a rip-off. And I was cheated anyway. 'She wouldn't know'..._

E: _Out of _what_? You learned everything in the end._

M: _I'm pretty sure mostly everything. And I still haven't skated since that day. I'm grateful for that..._

E: _Hm... Remind me to take you to the ice rink in New York sometime. I've heard that it's not that busy..._

M: _No. I see that look! No! Don't you even- Stop. That's not funny! Stop tickling!_

E: _Why? Anyway, let's write. I want to go to bed. Fiske was a total pain today..._

* * *

Edward sighed and looked around the market. For the fifth time. The sun was starting to set, and most of the buyers were leaving, but new ones were still skating in on the frozen canal. Colored lights danced above him, lighting up the plaza in their brilliance. It was just like he remembered.

A man walked by, caught Edward's eye, nodded, and continued walking. Edward nodded back, but something was itching at his mind. _P-p-p... Who? Oh! Peter Von Naggekk!_ _His father worked on the dikes!_ The dike that broke. Edward shuddered and turned away to one booth where Madeleine had been haggling with the owner for half an hour. _This is crazy. It's only a pot of honey!_

Edward knew that Madeleine had never had that many sweets, but enough was enough. You couldn't push the owner to the bone marrow. He caught Madeleine's eye. _Time to go._ She gave a quick nod and hurried to catch up with him. "It was still a rip-off." She mumbled, but she unscrewed the lid and stuck her finger in the honey jar.

Brightly colored signs flashed everywhere, showing off goods and merchandise. Edward's eyes wandered until he saw an old sign with a pair of skates engraved on it. He smiled. This was what _he _knew. There was a lady in the shop. She was old, like the sign, but there was still a sparkle in her eye. Edward hoped she wouldn't remember him.

"How can I help you?" She chattered away in Dutch. Laughing as she looked at the couple. One, slightly serious, and the other tasting honey at intervals.

Edward hesitated, he didn't know how to respond. He could just tell her what he wanted using the 'hand signals' and convince Madeleine that he really knew nothing about Holland, or he could splat all his lies and speak Dutch. White lies had to end some time. "Two pairs of skates. Your best."

The lady smiled, "Two pairs are seven guilders*."

Edward snorted and turned around. He knew that was the best way to chop a price. He switched back to the French that Madeleine understood. "Come on Maddie, we'll go somewhere else."

"Six!" The lady's voice grew rather shrill. Edward's mouth almost twitched. He had known it to get a lot shriller when he would argue with her for hours on new leather straps. "I can let you have a nice pair for four. Not high quality, but reasonable."

Edward turned back around, but kept his eyes narrowed. "On your best, you said six. Will you go five?"

"Five and three kwartjes."*

"Lower."

The lady frowned. "That's my limit."

"Then we'll go somewhere else." Edward knew the lady wasn't likely to turn down business if she was still known throughout Tiel for her sharp tongue.

"Five and two kwartjes!"

"Five and one."

There was a moment's hesitance. "Done."

Edward got the skates and the lady pocketed the money.

"I didn't know you could speak Dutch." Madeleine murmured as they walked away. "You could of at least helped me by interpreting for that goon of a honey-seller."

Edward pretended not to hear her and fussed with the skates, tightening and straps and loosening them. "Edward! Look out!"

Edward felt himself yanked back, and saved from a nasty bruise on the head by a tree branch. He glanced at Madeleine who had closed her jar of honey and had her arms crossed. Glaring at him. "You're impossible." He murmured, then dodged the tree, and kept on walking.

"Where are we?" Madeleine finally pleaded. "There isn't a soul here! And what the heck are those _things_ for? Cow butchering?"

Edward glanced up. She was right. The lights of the town were still quite bright, and there were a few lanterns hang by the canal. There wasn't a soul in sight either. It was the perfect place to learn to skate. Edward held up the skates. "Do you actually think these are for cow butchering when there isn't a cow for miles around?"

"Then what are they?"

"They're skates."

"What?"

Edward's mind flashed a spark of indignation that someone _didn't_ know what skates were. Then he remembered. He had grown up Dutch, and Madeleine was French. She couldn't be expected to know what half of the 'normal' things were. _Day one._ He thought. _Great._ "Skates. Look, you use them on the ice."

"On the ice? You'll fall in!"

A bit of indignation was replaced by disgust. Edward grabbed Madeleine, plopped her down in the snow and proceeded to tie her skates onto her boots. "Now go skate."

"What? How do I do _that_?"

"By skating." Edward pulled her to her feet and shoved her onto the ice. There was instantly a high-pitched screech. Madeleine was doubled over with both arms out, trying, in vain, to keep her balance. Edward felt no sympathy. He leaned down to tie his own skates to his boots.

* * *

M: _Ha. Yeah, cow butchering. And that honey was good!_

E: _Good enough to keep haggling for an hour?_

M: _Very. I would of bought two more jars, but you were leaving. Anyway, WHY THE HECK DID YOU PUSH ME ON THAT ICE? I was about ready to punch your head in._

E: _You wouldn't of skated if I hadn't done that._

M: _I didn't want to..._

E: _Phhh. Yeah right. You would of been begging me for skates within the hour If I hadn't bought any for you._

M: _Ha! Yeah right._

E: _Yes, 'yeah right'. Yeah right! You would of._

M: _Wouldn't._

E: _Would._

M: _Wouldn't._

E: _YES YOU WOULD OF! So stop saying you 'wouldn't'._

M: _Write Edward..._

* * *

_It's a perfect night._ Edward thought, when he stepped onto the ice. It felt good to be back. The word 'skating' was almost unheard of in the French language. And if he had missed anything, Edward had missed going out, on a cold winter's night, and skating. Nothing compared to that.

"Get over here! You- you Moron!" Madeleine woke him out of his daydreaming. "Get me out of these things!"

Edward felt a sly grin creep over his face as he glided over to where Madeleine was trying to balance. "Ice got your skate?"

He got a full-force, Madeleine-glare for his comedian efforts. "I can't skate!"

"You can't skate now," Edward pointed out. "But you can learn." He gave her another push. Sending her down the canal towards the lights of Tiel. "Push off with your blades. You've got edges you know. You don't have to be sitting on the ice like a shot duck." He gave a few strokes and pulled even with her. "Don't think, feel."

Madeleine stumbled along clumsily, trying to pick up her feet rather than push. Edward gave her another shove forward and she almost fell flat on her nose. "It's a lesson not to do that." He grinned broadly. "Look, _stroke_. Don't act like a deer trying to swim."

Madeleine straightened up and tried her best. He had to admit, for being on the ice for a minute, she was improving. _It took Peter weeks_. He thought ruefully. "Now you have the stroking part down, bend more, and push. On your blade, you usually have two edges. These skates should have them. Use them. Push with your insides, and skate on them. Your outsides are for turning."

"You sound like you're training an army." Madeleine shot back. Then she lowered herself down, and _pushed_. Edward was mildly surprised at the speed she gained. He watched. "HOW DO I STOP?" The scream was so desperate, so afraid, and yet so _ridiculous_, Edward burst out laughing. Skating forward, he pulled up next to her.

"I would use your right foot. Turn the blade sideways, putting pressure on it at the same time. You ought to be able to stop."

Madeleine stayed still for a moment, strayed absently to the side of the canal, and then leaped into the snow. Edward roared. She had stopped. Perhaps not _gracefully_ but still. Madeleine grinned up at him, and then burst into laughter too. Edward skated over and plopped into the snow beside her. She cuddled up next to him, still grinning. "So what is skating for anyway?"

Edward looked up at the stars. "I do it for fun. But there are races, and prizes. And you can get a lot of places in the winter since the canals go pretty much everywhere in the lowlands."

There was silence. He glanced at Madeleine, only to find her looking up at the stars as well. "You've lived here." She finally whispered. Turning back to him. "At some point. Long enough to learn the language."

"No!" Edward's thoughts seemed like ropes, laying straight for one second, but tangling up at the lightest touch the next. He tried to calm himself. If he said he 'didn't' she'd know that he had. Madeleine was good at things like that. "No. I haven't. Why?"

She shook her head. "You know everything. Like with the windmills, and the people. You couldn't learn those just by talking to someone. That's something you have to live with. Like in Spain."

He didn't know what to say to that.

"And you know the language. And how to bargain. And skating. You know how to skate. That's something you'd have to work at a long time to be as good as you are. The French don't skate." Madeleine smiled rather wryly. "I ought to know. I've never heard the word 'skate' before in my entire life." Then she fell silent, waiting for his reply. "You can tell me."

Edward didn't know what to say. The things she'd talked about were only little things. Things he'd let slip from the minute they'd entered Holland. But somehow, Madeleine had managed to piece them together. It was impossible to deny anything now. "Maddie it's nothing."

Her big green eyes stared up at him, scrutinizing and stern. She knew he was hiding something though. He could see it. An overwhelming urge surged through him. But he couldn't tell her. Couldn't tell her how they died, how everything had fallen to pieces. How life had never been the same- until he'd met her.

"It's not just like I'm a random someone." Madeleine whispered.

"Madeleine, I said it's nothing!" Edward pushed her away and scrambled up. He took a few steps through the snow and leaped onto the ice. Then he started skating, stroking hard. His throat burned and his eyes swelled, but he could still see the stars shining brightly in the sky. _Curse them._ He thought bitterly. _Just sitting there with nothing to do._

Madeleine joined him after a while. They skated around, until the village was just a few lights, shining in the distance.

"You ready?" Edward asked, finally skating up to her.

Madeleine nodded, "If you are."

_If you are._ Edward stared at her. She was clearly trying to hide her chattering, and her hands, and her teeth would be shaking like crazy if she let them. But, _If you are._ She did understand then. A wave of relief washed through him. She did understand how sometimes pain couldn't be healed by words, it needed a 'patch' of action. Edward leaned down and gently kissed her. "Let's go."

* * *

E: _Okay, so I was just thinking; Why do we always change the subject to- 'Write whomever' when we're annoyed?_

M:_ It's a nice red herring. And it's actually what we're suppose to be doing anyway._

E: _Technically I'm suppose to be placing ideal areas on a map of the Gulf of Mexico to catch Tomas spy seals right now. I'm not suppose to be writing a story of us._

M: _Of my life. It's suppose to be of my life._

E: _So now you're going to cut out me too... I'm so depreciated..._

M: _Who said that?_

E: _There is a person looking over our shoulders..._

M:_ Let's continue this conversation off paper. If we don't, I think someone here's going to get a broken nose._

* **Kwartjes are Dutch currency about the amount of a US quarter. At least I'm pretty sure they are. I got that from a book written in 19 something. So I'm not sure if it's still in use today. Anyway, since this is before the 1900's, it shouldn't matter. Right?**

**Leaving on that same note, Tiel is a real city in Holland/Netherlands. All the places I looked up in the encycopedia if I didn't have the town in my head. If I got it wrong, it's my own fault. So don't blame anybody else, blame me. The canals in Holland do freeze as well. People did skate on them. My skating coach actually has ice skates dating around... to early something. Anyhow, they're old. So there's proof in front of my eyes that people did skate on the canals in Holland.**

**Note; Everything in my story should be time period realistic. If it's not, I looked it up, and I should tell you that I couldn't find the facts somewhere, or give some sort of cheesy excuse to excuse myself. But I HAVE looked everything up if you're wondering.**

**Aren't you glad that this is a short chapter?**

**Question; Hm... What's up with Edward? Does anybody feel sorry for him?**

* * *

*** Guilders are Dutch currency about the amount of a US dollar. I think it's worth slightly more, but I'm not positive. It could be slightly less.**


	25. The Dike

**I AM DONE! *Lapulta leaps into the air and does an ungraceful flip***

**Well, just the actual story. I'm working on the Epilogue, then I have all the little italic parts to do for twenty chapters. Then the credits page once I'm completely done. Once we hit the ending chapter, I'll take a count and everyone who wants a sequel can vote. If there are more than twenty-five people who want a sequel, I'll do it. Actually, I better start counting now, although it'd probably be better to wait till later. You're probably thinking that the Epilogue is where Maddie dies. Lol. Not so, young padawans! Well, let's get to chapter forty. Then we can start voting. How's that?**

**NOTICE; Do not read all of these review replies. Find your name, read your reply, then skip to the story. To tell you the truth, I loved it when people replied to reviews and said everything where everybody could see. I swore when I was off the site that I would do the same thing and I would reply to every single review. Ha. Now I see why Another Artist chucked that idea. I'm trying to figure out what to do without breaking my promise to myself... I've figured out I'll send PMs to people who have accounts and reply to people who don't on the story.**

**Candy; Okay. *laughs slightly* I would love to say 'yes' to you. But no. Sadly, you've got *checks list* 21 more chapters to read. *rolls eyes* Good luck.**

* * *

M: _Hey Ed. Too early in the morning for you?_

E:_ ~~~/W-ha-t?\~~~_

M: _I'll take all your misspells as a yes. It's better than me dragging you to my desk after the party at 1:00 in the morning and telling you to write then._

E: _I\ll' take it/as._

M: _Do you need a cup of coffee?_

E: _3x /`lot-te w/ 2x *bang* caffeine whi\p-crem w/ driz coco on /\._

M: _Can you- um... Attempt to translate?_

E: _Triple lotte with a double shot of caffeine, whip cream with drizzled chocolate on top._

M: _Wow! Maybe just talking about caffeine woke you up. I'll have to remember that the next time I have to get you up at 3:30 in the morning._

E: _: (_

M: _Not the smiley faces again... Okay, I'll start, and then you take over. How's that?_

E: _; ]_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-two;**

**The Dike**

When Madeleine woke up at Two 'o clock the next day, she was annoyed.

There was clearly a noise going on in an adjoining room. A loud one. But she couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded somewhat like fifty woodpeckers, pecking all at the same time, and they had the hiccups. Madeleine listen closely for a few minutes. That was it. A person snoring. Good grief. Did anyone snore like; ZZZBUMPzzz, ZZZBUMPzzz? Ridiculous!

Madeleine wondered if she should pound on the wall and tell whoever it was doing it, to quite down. But then that might wake Edward up and the other people surrounding them. So then there was the option of sneaking into the offender's room and tickling their nose with a quill. But that posed the problem if the offender was sleeping alone.

By the time Edward woke up, Madeleine had invented 35 different plans and had also thought up 35 reasons not to do them. She was starting on her 36th. Madeleine didn't get a wink of sleep from 2-7.

* * *

M: _Your turn. AND YES I'M CRAZY SORRY THAT YOU'RE NOT A MORNING PERSON! Crikey!_

E: _Let's see if I can manage legible sentences right now... You correct me Mads._

* * *

"Pepper in your tea?" Edward asked Madeleine the next morning.

"What? Oh-" She quickly put the shaker down before her tea could be poorly flavored. "I'm sorry. I'm not awake at all."

"So you're talking in your sleep?" Edward snickered while he bit into his buttered toast.

"Pretty much." Madeleine checked the label on the jar of jam so she wouldn't pour salt on her toast like she had with the last piece. "They need to kick the person that snores out of the inn. I'm not kidding."

Edward rolled his eyes and took a sip of tea. Everything was perfect. Exactly the way he remembered it. There was absolutely no way he could think of to make it any better. Then Madeleine pointed behind him out the window of the inn. He turned around in his seat, mildly expecting an enormous cockroach, or beetle, but there wasn't one. There was a man riding a black, galloping horse. Half dismounting while the horse was still running, he leaped to the ground and threw open the inn's door.

"The dike is breaking! Get out-" There was more, but Edward didn't hear.

Edward felt his life spin back fifteen years. In those four words, all he'd had, had been swept away. All he'd ever loved. All the people that had cared about him. Edward heard people jump up. Women screaming. Men yelling. Total chaos. Madeleine still sat though, toast in hand, watching him. Waiting for his direction, for his guidance. He couldn't let all he loved be torn away from him. Not Madeleine. Not again.

"Go get our things from the room." He was almost frightened at how fierce the French words came out. "All of them."

Madeleine didn't pause for pondering. She got up and started towards the Inn's hallway.

Edward swallowed hard. He could see all the hidden questions, the concealed fear, the obscured terror. She didn't know what was going on. She didn't know anything about Holland, or dikes, or the sea. She couldn't speak Dutch. She was following him blindly. And just then, Edward realized what she'd meant about jumping off a cliff, and how Madeleine didn't know if she could land. For a moment he wished he could run after her, catch her in his arms, kiss her, tell her everything was going to be alright. But there wasn't time.

The inn was almost empty. Only a few hurried people remained, scurrying around, gathering up last-minute belongings, or taking things other people had left. Where was that girl? Madeleine finally appeared, the separate things tied neatly into their separate bundles. Edward didn't wait, he grabbed Madeleine's arm and towed her out of the inn. They had to get to higher ground.

* * *

_I'm so sorry right now. Edward was unable to write this part. He fell asleep at the end of that paragraph. If my writing is messy, it's because I'm trying to write without jabbing my elbow into Edward's face. Maybe I should just do that and wake him up... Be nice. Sometime I wonder if I'm just _too _considerate. But then Edward's my husband as well._

_I really do need to do something about when he snores. He doesn't often, but when he does... I might as well start screaming- The British are coming! The British are coming! And wake up all the people from Boston to San Diego. Honestly._

_-MC (and EC, tecnically. But he fell asleep. The person who didn't fall asleep ought to get full credit for her writing skills. Or his writing skills, but I'm not a boy.)_

* * *

"Edward where are we going?" Madeleine looked around the village as they ran through the streets. "What's going on?" People were loading possessions into boats, scrambling over each other, crying children holding pets in their laps. Madeleine felt like a child herself. Like she just wanted to sit down in the middle of the street and cry her heart out, -without tears. It was so confusing. Someone ran into the inn and screamed in Dutch and then there was mayhem.

Complete chaos.

She glanced at Edward's face for comfort, but his eyes were cold and hard. All his features looked like they had been cast in marble and were making up a moving statue. It offered little to comfort her fears.

He pulled her over a bridge spanning the canal and continued running out of the village. "Where are we going?" Madeleine fought back an urge to pull away from him. This wasn't the Edward that she knew. Her Edward had been reasonable. Kind. Honest. Loving. "What's going on?"

"The dike's breaking."

The French words were cold and hard, and Edward himself didn't meet her eyes. "Why? What's happening?"

She could feel his hand grip her wrist tighter. "Save your breath."

_Save my breath?_ A feeling of desperation swept over her. What was happening? Why was everybody running and getting into boats? Was it a disease? A plague like the one that had killed her brother? An enormous monster? Why? Why was Edward acting like he was? Madeleine had never felt so confused since Luke, Katherine, Thomas, and her, had been playing tag. She'd had to translate for the other three, since one called the other a 'wimpy pig' and was returned by a 'brick-headed scoundrel' and neither of the people knew what the other one meant. Plus she had to make sure that she didn't get caught. _Complicated._ But not too complicated for Madeleine Cahill. But that was in France, this was Holland. Where an entirely different language rendered her helpless. _Confusing enough in France. Impossible in Holland._

Madeleine tripped as Edward suddenly yanked her off the road. He pulled her through clumps of dry and dying tulips and though a field of green grass towards a mountain. _It's not a mountain... _Madeleine thought. _Not really..._ Mountains were big and tall and commanding. This was on the large side for a hill, but was a mini-mountain. Not big enough to be called a mountain, but not small enough to be called a hill. There were two little mini-mountains also. Looking almost like a camel's humps. They connected in the middle with a low slope. But the mini-mountains stood tall, ruling over the low grounds of the area. They were the tallest piece of land in the area. Thinking that way, they were the only mini-mountains close by.

Madeleine expected Edward to stop once they'd gotten to the foot of the tallest mini-mountain, but Edward didn't pause. He started pulling her up the side, zigzagging around to save energy. She noticed that he knew how to climb too.

* * *

When they'd reached halfway to the top, there was a steep slope. It could be climbed, but it needed both hands. Madeleine still had their bundles clenched tightly in her fists. She mildly wondered if Edward was going to find another way around, or if she was going to have to use her two feet and thirty-two teeth. Now _that_ would be interesting. Edward started climbing up the ten foot slope though like he'd been doing it every day of his life. Then when he'd reached the top, he turned back around. "Toss me the things."

Madeleine obliged. Rather glad at being able to open and close her hands once more. They were starting to get stiff. But when she took her first step to start climbing, her dress would only let her get halfway as far as she needed to reach. "Curses." She muttered. Wondering if she should just forget modesty and pull up her dress. Edward wouldn't care anyway. She almost snickered.

"What's taking so long?" There was a quick snap from above.

"I've got my dress on!" Madeleine stood at the edge of the slope, looking up.

"So?"

"I can't climb!"

Edward's head reappeared over the edge of the slope, a tiny smirk marking laughter. "Of course you can climb. You just mean you can't climb with your dress on."

"You know what I mean! What's so important up there?"

"Nothing important's up here. It's just important that you get up here. Now."

"What's going on?" Madeleine stomped her foot. "I'm not taking a step farther till you tell me!" She momentarily forgot that stomping feet was childish.

Edward ignored her, but he frowned, thinking. Then he suddenly came sliding back down the slope. When he was halfway down, he grabbed Madeleine's arms and tugged her up. They managed to slip and slide the rest of the way up. Once Madeleine's dress had been ruined by falling _off_ a cliff. Once more, Madeleine's dress had been ruined by climbing _up_ a slope. Ridiculous.

But Edward never said a word. Grabbing the two bundles in one hand, he snatched Madeleine's wrist with the other and began dragging her the rest of the way up the small, mini-mountain.

When they reached the top, Madeleine was exhausted. She usually wasn't tired by running, and it wasn't really the running that had done her in, it was the fact of no sleep the night before, and a worrying mind. Her mind still hadn't stopped worrying. It was going on, and on, cranking worrisome facts out like ideas for waking up a snorer the night before.

Edward was exhausted too. He wasn't really exhausted, but his body had never been fit for running. He was better off swimming, or skating. His lungs seemed like they were going to burst they were sucking in air so fast. And besides that, his mind was worrying too. It wasn't exactly worrying, they were on the mountain, Madeleine was safe. But more memories. Bitter memories. Memories that he would of rather forgotten.

Dropping the bundles on the ground, he plopped down beside them. Madeleine sat down too, leaning against him. They looked off towards the village -the North East- and a few scattered houses around it.

Madeleine waited for him to explain. And she waited, and waited. Until she thought that her mind would burst from lack of information. "Edward, what's going on? Please. I have a right to know." Edward looked over at her and Madeleine saw something that she thought she'd never see in his eyes. Fear. He was afraid. Her Edward.

* * *

M: _Well, what do you know! The slumbering giant is awake again!_

E: _pwiueyhtpashg._

M: _Why are you writing random letters?_

E:_ I- x wake._

M: _Translation._

E: _I/AM-~~NOT E-WAKE~~!_

M: _I kind of think that's a poor translation, but I get your general drift... Hang on, let me get some water..._

E: _W- wha?_

M: _There, that better?_

E: _THAT'S CRAZY COLD!_

M: _See? I knew ice-cold water would wake you up. Always does the trick. Should I get another glass or are you fine?_

E: _God that's cold! I'm good. Jeeze I'm good! I'll write! I'll write!_

* * *

"The dike's breaking." Edward whispered.

"What's a dike?"

Edward gently wrapped an arm around Madeleine's waist. "See that? Over in the distance. It's way out there, sticking out of the area." Madeleine looked. She could see it. Just barely, but she could see it.

"So?"

"That's a dike." Edward explained. "It helps hold the sea back."

"But why would it break?" Madeleine leaned her head on his shoulder. Her hand wriggled around and found his. She squeezed it tight.

"It's old." Edward didn't look at her. "It holds back the sea. Millions of gallons of water. It stretches for miles. And there's another one behind it. They save Holland Maddie. The land we're standing on was covered by water. We fight it. We may win for a time, for a long time, but the water will always conquer someday. Apparently it just chose today."

"You said 'we'." Madeleine whispered back. She looked up at Edward, and it was as if she was looking at him for the first time. She could see the lined face, the bright eyes, the low forehead. The ever-present, turned-up, smiling-mouth that all the Dutch seemed to have. Puzzle pieces clicked together. "You're Dutch. Aren't you."

Edward looked down at her for a moment. Madeleine could see he was struggling, trying desperately to find the emotion he wanted -but he couldn't. He turned away. "Does it matter?"

"Yes."

Madeleine felt the arms around her waist tighten, pulling her closer to him, but he didn't say anything. There were a few trees below and a robin's birdsong floated up to her on the morning breeze. It didn't seem like something dreadful was going to happen. At least not an enormous flood. Then a rumble shook the ground. It was soft, and the sound didn't reach Madeleine's ears till a few seconds later, but she clung tighter to Edward. "What's happening?"

"The dike's breaking. I told you."

"No, now." Madeleine breathed. "What's happening now?"

"It's breaking." Edward let go of her and stood up. Madeleine followed and gripped his hand again tightly. She needed something familiar in this land of un-familiarities. Edward was the closest thing she could get, but even then, she wasn't quite sure how familiar he actually was. The land shuddered again. This time it was harder and the sound followed quicker. Then there was an ear-splitting 'crack' that echoed through the valley. Edward didn't seem that worried though. Even when the silence that followed quieted the most cheerfully singing bird. There was another 'crack' then, a bit softer, and another, and another. Edward suddenly pointed into the distance. Madeleine squinted her eyes, and watched as a fountain of water poured out of the dike. She was still watching when, piece-by-piece, the dike started to fall away, letting in all the waters of the sea.

Madeleine watched as the water pounded towards them, eating up towns and houses. She could see little boats dotting the water though. Hundreds of them. _At least the people are safe._ Her eyes continued to glue themselves to the frothing water, and as she watched, the water began to disperse and lose it's power. It stopped a ways from the town of Tiel.

Edward let out a sigh of relief. "Now lets just hope that it stays like that."

"Why wouldn't it?" Madeleine glanced once more at the sea that was conquering the Holland countryside.

"Remember what I said about another dike being behind that one? If that breaks-" Edward didn't finish what he was going to say. "I just hope they're going to be alright." He pointed down the mini-mountain to what seemed to be a family. Madeleine could make out a little boy, and two parents that were hugging him. Then the two large figures started walking back to a cottage.

"I don't think anything's going to happen." Madeleine smiled. "It's too peaceful-" The sound of an enormous crack echoed throughout the valley. It was worse than the one before. It was larger, and it held unspoken enmity.

Madeleine looked up at Edward. His face had grown frightfully pale. "It's too late."

"But the people, can't we do something?"

He shook his head. "No."

Madeleine looked down at the little cottage again. The two parents were running out. They had clearly heard the foreshadowing crack. _"Please get there."_ She whispered to herself. _"Please." A quarter of the way, a bit more. Halfway there..._ And then there was an enormous roar and a wave of water. It was larger than when the first dike had broken, and it ate up everything in it's path. It pushed the water from the first dike ahead of it, throwing it, shattered, into the air like so many broken matchsticks. Madeleine looked down at the people. _Three quarters of the way- run!_

But the water got there first.

Madeleine could hear the little boy's scream easily from where she was standing. She could see the parents' hands, rising up, trying to grab something, as they were swept underwater. She could feel the total, undying, cruel, terror that enveloped her as the boy's boat swept past below her, riding on the water. She could hear the echo of the scream ringing in her ears. That scream of horror, of fright, of anger, of sadness. "It's not fair," Madeleine whispered, burying her face in Edward shoulder. "It's just not fair."

"Life isn't fair," Edward whispered back, but he wrapped his other arm around her and rested his chin on her hair. They stayed that way till the waters around them had calmed down. Edward knew the currents underneath hadn't died, but he had to take the chance. "Stay here." Letting go of Madeleine, he started down the mini-mountain.

"Edward! Where are you going?" Madeleine caught his sleeve before he could get far enough away. "You can't leave me!"

"You're Eighteen now," Edward smiled. "Aren't you?"

"But this is Holland!" Madeleine pleaded. She gripped Edward's tunic tighter. "Not France!"

"Alright." Edward glanced to the West. Madeleine followed his gaze, but only saw a few boats dotting the water. "Look, the Van Gekks, ought to be here soon. If not someone else. Tell them to take you to the Tulip Inn." Edward pronounced the name in Dutch. "They'll take you there. I'll see you soon." He managed to pull his sleeve out of Madeleine's grasp while she was preoccupied, and he darted away, down the mini-mountain's slope.

"Edward... Edward! Get back here! Please!" Madeleine wished she didn't have her dress on, and then she could go chase after him. She started to yell something after him, but stopped when something hit her. She didn't know Edward's last name. Or her own, for that matter. Madeleine decided to say what she was going to say anyway. "Edward Cahill! If you don't come back here this instant you'll never get another kiss from me in your life!"

Edward stopped dead. He didn't turn around though. Madeleine waited, her heart stinging as she watched him. Then he turned around, blew her a kiss and continued down. When he'd reached the edge of the water, he took off his boots and plunged in, not even giving her a backward glance.

Madeleine stared after him, desperate and alone. She spun around on the little island that her mini-mountain had created. She had never felt so completely _alone_ in her life. After being constantly with Edward for almost four months, she missed his presence. And being in a country she knew nothing about -that only made her more afraid. _That's a good start._ She thought wryly. _I'll just sit here and- and wait I guess. For the Van Gekks to take me to the Tulip Inn. I hope._

Madeleine plopped down ungracefully on the dirt. She didn't care whether her dress was clear or not. It didn't really matter did it? With her being surrounded by water and all. Time passed. Sometimes bits of wood floated by her, and once in a great while, a larger piece of flotsam. Madeleine sighed and placed her head in her hands. It had to be at least an hour since Edward had left. Why hadn't anybody come?

"Hallo!"

Madeleine jumped up and frantically brushed off the worst dust spots on her dress. She knew what everyone greeted each other with in Holland at least. She waved at the boat, then picked up the two bundles lying next to her.

Once the boat had pulled up close enough to the mini-mountain for Madeleine to step on, she saw that there were two people inside. There was a man at the helm, he had brown hair. And a woman, sitting inside, with black hair. _His wife._ Madeleine guessed. Even though she knew it wasn't her business to be thinking such things. They both had the same blue eyes. The color of the greenish-blue water around them. The woman asked Madeleine something in Dutch.

Madeleine paused for a moment, not knowing what to say. "I- I don't speak Dutch." She finally whispered with a sort of half-smile.

"You speak French!" The woman instantly exclaimed. And stood up so suddenly to hug Madeleine that she almost upset the boat. "I haven't heard my own language for so long!"

"But-"

Madeleine couldn't even get a sentence in edgewise. Her two bundles were quickly taken and she was settled comfortably in the bottom of the boat. "I married into the country, but Holland is a nice trading port. Nobody ever thinks of traveling. But I'm being a magpie. What's your name?"

"Madeleine." Madeleine watched as the man at the helm began to row. Down where she sat though, she had to keep leaning forward every other stroke so she wouldn't get poked in the back with the oars. "And you?"

"I'm Mrs. Van Gekk. You can call me Margaret. And that's my husband Hans."

"Nice to meet you." Madeleine smiled, and then looked out over the water. "I haven't been able to talk to anyone. I can't speak Dutch at all."

Mrs. Van Gekk leaned forward. "Then why are you here?"

Now _that_ was a story. "My husband brought me." Madeleine wondered vaguely where Edward was. "He speaks Dutch." For a moment, Madeleine was unsure of wether to ask something. It was asking what she thought was right, but what Edward had said wasn't. But her heart had been right more times than Edward. Maybe... "Edward mentioned you might be by. Do- do you know him?"

"Edward?" Mrs. Van Gekk shook her head. "This is Holland. There are more Edward's here than you could shake a stick at. Which one are you talking about? Give me a dicription."

"I..." Madeleine bit her lip, trying to think. "He has blond hair and blue eyes."

"Like Mr. Haft? Or Mr. Von Depple? Half the people in Holland have blond hair and blue eyes. What does he act like? That might narrow it down a bit more."

"Ahh..." Madeleine looked out the side of the boat as Mr. Van Gekk rowed Southwest. "He- he can swim, really good. And skate. He can skate good too. Um... He's always laughing?" The last suggestion was added almost jestingly. But Mrs. Van Gekk paled.

"Always laughing?"

Madeleine nodded. "Both of us laugh a lot."

"But- but that's impossible!" Mrs. Van Gekk looked over the water too, then back at Madeleine. "Where is he?"

Madeleine shrugged. "He left. I haven't seen him since. He just said that you would most likely be by, and for you to take me to the Tulip Inn."

"The rascal!" Mrs. Van Gekk exclaimed. "That's just like him!" Then she seemed to remember Madeleine and her question. "Do you mean Edward Von Anderson?"

"I don't know." Madeleine shuffled her feet on the floor of the boat. "I was asking you. But he never told me anything about himself. I mean, not really. He never told me that he knew Dutch, or he could skate, and he taught me how to do both. And when he talked about you, I... I thought perhaps you knew each other. He couldn't of met you. We just got here last night."

Mrs. Van Gekk smiled wryly. "We know each other. In fact-" Her voice broke out into excited Dutch as she talked to the man behind Madeleine. There was a quick reply -in Dutch, and she turned back to Madeleine. "You mean he never told you anything?"

Madeleine slowly shook her head. "Nothing. Should he of?"

Mrs. Van Gekk paused for a moment. It seemed like her excitement lowered. "It's not exactly my position to say. I can tell you what happened, but I can't say Edward will be happy with you in the end. When did you get married?"

"In Spain, about six weeks ago. Why? And who is Edward then?"

"Married," Mrs. Van Gekk murmured. She shook her head in astonishment. Then turned back to Madeleine. "Edward's Dutch. And he lived here, in Tiel, on the outskirts. Not too far from this mountain actually."

Madeleine focused on trying to smooth the wood seat without getting a splinter in her finger. "But who is he? What happened? Truly. I don't want everything hid from me."

* * *

E: _Ha! I always knew you started asking her for more info about me!_

M: _Um... I can't exactly deny that now can I..._

E: _Liar, liar, pants on fire..._

M: _HEY! No, no, no, no. She wanted to talk too! It wasn't like I could just say; I don't want to hear anymore. Shut up._

E: _Well of course not. Dutch people are smart enough that if you stop listening, they'll stop talking. It's as simple as that. Or at least it was... It's been a while. Maybe we're not as socially centered as we use to be..._

M: _You used 'we' again._

E: _Alright fine! I give in! I'm not awake! Start writing Mads._

* * *

Mrs. Van Gekk sighed and thought for a moment. "Edward was young." She finally murmured. "When he learned how to skate. His Mother put him on the ice for the first time. I was there. We were his closest neighbors. I remember how he took to the ice. It was like the skates were molded to his feet. He would skate all day if his Mother would let him. He learned how to swim the same way too. He could swim like a fish. And he use to scare us by diving underwater and holding his breathe for as long as humanely possible. He always got a scolding afterward, but he never cried because of it. It was his idea of a joke. The rascal." She murmured again, shaking her head. "And he could joke too. Good jokes. And even before that, he could laugh. He was always happy. Always smiling. That I remember."

"So what happened?" Madeleine bit her lip. "If you're saying that, then there has to be something that happened. What?"

"Patience." But Mrs. Van Gekk looked over the water again. "The dikes broke." She whispered softly. Madeleine noticed her hand reaching out of the boat and letting her fingers run through the water. "Both of them. Edward was four." There was another pause.

"Well what happened?" Madeleine was reaching the end of her nerve. "Did he die? Tell me!"

"If he died," Mrs. Van Gekk shot back. "Would he be your husband right now?"

Madeleine realized how stupid her question had been and tried to reign in her impatience.

"They all loved each other." Was the next whisper. "Dearly. Edward loved his Mother more than anything. His Father too. And they loved him back. When we got the word that the first dike was breaking, we got out the boat. This one actually." Mrs. Van Gekk smiled and patted the wooden boat's side. "And we were all suppose to get in it. And be safe. You see?"

Madeleine nodded. She didn't see how any of this could refer to Edward though. "So..."

"His-" Mrs. Van Gekk choked on the word. "The first dike broke, but the water didn't get very far. Like it didn't today. His parents went to go get a few things, and then the second dike collapsed. It went down faster than it did today, and there wasn't any warning."

Madeleine stared at the woman in horror, realization dawning on her.

"They never even got halfway. The water hit them." Mrs. Van Gekk paused. "They- they drowned."

Madeleine felt like she was almost shrinking inside. Edward couldn't of gone through this. Not her Edward. He loved her too much. But the feeling didn't go away. It stuck with her.

Mrs. Van Gekk shook her head slowly, almost as if trying to rid herself of the horrible memories lodged there. "We took Edward in, but he never got over it. At least I don't think so. He would cry himself to sleep, night after night, for weeks afterward. And he would have nightmares." Mrs. Van Gekk shuddered. "Horrible nightmares. _I_ would get nightmares if he described them to me. And he never laughed. That was the worst thing of all I think. He lost all his laughter with that. He didn't laugh, rarely smiled." The woman thought for a moment, trying to gather the words she wanted to say. "I don't think he felt sorry for himself. He didn't advertise it, but it cut him so deeply that he couldn't be the way he was before. Nobody who has ever lost their parents to the water, ever forgets what happened."

Madeleine thought of the little boy she and Edward had watched. She remembered the scream and the hands, reaching out from under the water, but being swept away. _Nightmares._ She could see the hands reaching up to grab her, to pull her down with them. But she knew if she pulled up the hands, it would be worse. A grinning, hollow skull stared back at her from her imagination. Madeleine stifled the urge to scream. "Please," She whispered, trying to force the image back down. "Go on."

"Edward stayed with us till he was seven. And then one morning, I woke up- and he was gone. There was just a note saying that he'd left." Mrs. Van Gekk smiled wryly out at the sea. "I always wondered what had happened to him."

Madeleine reached out and took her hand. It was rough, and more than a bit worn. Like Michelle's. But the creases were still soft, the hands were still gentle, caressing.

"When you adopt an orphan, or a child of the water," Mrs. Van Gekk murmured softly, looking more at the sea than at Madeleine. "You can't tell the him what to call you. He could call you a lazy horse. But it always reflects who you are. They call you by your name most of the time, then Auntie, but the highest honor you can get, is when they call you by the name of who they lost."

"Did... Edward ever-?"

Mrs. Van Gekk shook her head. "It's rare. Very rare, when they find someone who can replace who they lost. And it's not really a replacement. You can never replace love. But you can find someone who can help you fill the hole in your heart. Then that's not a bad trade. Edward never found that person. I'll admit, I spoiled him." The two women shared a smile. "But he lost too much to be replaced." She turned to Madeleine. "Have you-"

Her words were cut off by a large jerk as the edge of the boat struck soft ground. Mrs. Van Gekk jumped out and quickly stopped the boat from rocking as Madeleine grabbed her bundles and stepped out.

To Madeleine, the entire Dutch world had almost been swept away, and it seemed like the whole population had gathered in one little spot. It was the Tulip Inn. The Inn had apparently been built on a higher patch of ground. It was almost as high as the mini-mountain. But now it was an island. Boats were docked around the island, hundreds of them. She recognized a few from the village. But she didn't see the one that the little blond haired boy had been swept away in. Madeleine hoped that he was alright.

"Now this," Mrs. And Mr. Van Gekk stepped out of the boat. "Is one of the only places in the valley that won't be flooded if the dikes break. So, coincidentally, most people come here. It'll be crowded, but everyone will soon spread out. You'll be safe here. Tell Elizabeth that we sent you. She'll be pleased as punch."

Madeleine bit her lip, "I don't speak Dutch."

"Oh! Silly me!" Mrs. Van Gekk laughed. "Don't worry. She won't mind a whit. We'll be here before sundown too." She jumped back into the boat. "I'll see you then! And then we can talk more!" There was a wave.

"Thank you!" Madeleine waved back. But the encouragement didn't improve the tossing of her stomach. She felt sick at heart. Madeleine turned around and faced the Inn. It was full of people, almost stretching at the seams. There was a little patch of land next to it though that hadn't been flooded. It wasn't indoors, and it probably had bugs, but it was better than nothing, and there were no people there. Madeleine walked over and set the bundles down under a large aspen tree. Then she sat down -Indian style- beside them.

She was instantly bored.

Madeleine knew how to crochet, but she didn't have any yarn or a crochet hook to do it with. She knew how to knit, but she didn't have any needles. She knew how to embroider. _But what's the point of doing that anyway?_ Madeleine tried to think up else something to do.

She was completely engrossed in that pastime when there was a little cry and something toppled from the tree straight into her lap. It was a child. The two of them stared at each other with wide eyes. The little blond-haired girl recovered first. She asked Madeleine something in Dutch. Madeleine shook her head.

"French?"

Madeleine's eye lit up. Someone else who spoke French! "How do you know French?"

"My Mother's French." The child adjusted her legs so she was sitting on Madeleine's lap. The little girl couldn't of been more than four. "She was swept away by the water, but she told me not to worry. She'll be back."

There was a cheerful smile. As if to cheer Madeleine up and convince her that her Mother _was_ coming back. But the water claimed it's victims. Madeleine had seen that with her own eyes. The hands reaching up out of the wave came back to her. She pushed the image away. "Of course she is. Is your Father here too?"

"No, but he's coming back too. I know so."

Madeleine wanted to hug the little child close to her. _A child of the water loses the things that can never be replaced._ "I lost my parents when I was little too." _It wasn't that long ago, truly._ "They haven't come back yet either." _They never will. I'm a child of the fire._ Madeleine thought ruefully, folding her legs so the little girl was more comfortable and closer to her.

"When you were little? _My_ parents will come back sooner than that!" Big, brown eyes blinked rapidly. "I can climb trees!"

Madeleine smiled a bit at the childish pride. "Can you?"

"I can climb big trees! And little ones, and ones that touch the tip of the sky!" The girl's eyes were wide open and excited. "Do you know any stories? Any new ones? Ones I haven't heard before? My Mother use to tell me stories all the time."

Madeleine couldn't resist. She thought for a moment, then turned back to the girl, eyes twinkling in delight. "Alright. So this story happened in another world. It was a lot like ours, but it was hilly, and all this, as far as anyone had ever walked, was sand." Madeleine motioned out at the water. And with the sun shining off of it, it was easy to pretend that they were sand dunes, stretching into the distance. The girl's eyes widened. "The sand was broken by water-holes over the desert. It was called a desert. They called a water-hole, an oasis. And lot of trees grew around them. Around the oases, lots of cities and towns grew. Now, in one of the towns, there lived a boy. His name was Luke Starkiller. He was brave. Braver than anybody in the town! And he decided to search for the end of the desert!"

A lively tale sprung up, and both Madeleine and the girl grew entranced. Madeleine's imagination finally had a job to do, and it cranked out the wildest, craziest tale she had ever told. There were enormous monsters, twenty feet tall, that had gray wrinkly skin, and noses that brushed the ground. There were amazing buggies that sped across the sand so fast you could wink an eye and they were gone -that weren't pulled by horses. There were beams of light that could chop off someone's arm faster that a hatchet. And ships that could carry someone off into the sky, to the stars.

* * *

"...Luke grabbed onto the princess, and then leaped off the ship!" Madeleine paused for a drama build-up. "They landed on the Jedi-Windo ship, and Hans pulled them both to safety. The evil Dang-Louis-the-14th was destroyed as the dark battleship blew apart into a million tiny smithereens. And Luke and the princess Katherine were saved. They went back to Tattoine and lived happily ever after, in Luke's old home by the oasis. The End."

The girl stared at her, eyes so wide Madeleine hoped they wouldn't fall out of her head. "But- but that can't be the end! You never said what happened to the town of Karachi! And what happened to Luke's uncle?"

"Well..." Madeleine drew it out, "Lars, he went into the sailing business. He sailed people from one star to the next. And the town of Karachi? It was saved from destruction and became the biggest boom-town the star of Tattoine had ever known."

The little girl looked at the sun. By it's constant time table, Madeleine judged it was about four o'clock. "I wish I could do that." The little girl finally said. "Shoot up into the stars and save Tattoine from an evil emperor. That would be awesome-"

"Lillia!-" There was something else, but it was in Dutch. Both Madeleine and the little girl looked up. A man had walked out of the Inn. He waited for a minute, then called again.

"I've got to go." The little girl stood up -Lillia. "Mr. Van Gekk is calling me." _The Van Gekks?_ Madeleine grabbed her bags and scrambled up after Lillia. I'll go with you. I have to talk to Margaret about something."

"Alright." Lillia scampered ahead of Madeleine and quickly greeted Mr. Van Gekk in a flurry of Dutch words that Madeleine couldn't understand. Mr. Van Gekk greeted Madeleine with a quick nod, and then motioned inside the Inn. Madeleine understood. She went inside to meet his wife.

Inside the Inn, on the right hand side, was a long couch. In the middle of the room were about five tables with chairs circling them. It was a bit like Michelle's Inn. Madeleine noted. With a brick counter separating the kitchen from the main room. She guessed the kitchen area was a lot like Michelle's Inn too.

Mrs. Van Gekk was talking in Dutch over the brick counter to -who Madeleine guessed was- the innkeepstress. She nodded and shook her head to her words and intervals, but looked sad through-out. Then Mrs. Gekk turned around and noticed Madeleine. Her eyes lit up and she switched to speaking French. "You are here! I was wondering where you'd gone!"

A small smile started twitching over Madeleine face. "I was kept busy telling a story for the whole afternoon."

Mrs. Van Gekk laughed. "Lillia? That girl always did love stories. She can spot a person who would tell her a tale, a mile off. She knows three languages too. So she can edge them out of people that way as well. I've used her as my translator many a day." Her eyes sparkled laughingly, but Madeleine saw the sadness hidden in them too.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Well..." Mrs. Van Gekk bit her lip, thinking. "They're starting work on the dike. It'll be repaired soon. Meanwhile they're pumping out the water into another reservoir as fast as they can. It'll be a few months, but it's taken a lot longer for other breaks."

"No," Madeleine shook her head. "I meant with the children. What's happening with the children? Have any of the parents been found?"

Mrs. Van Gekk looked away. "Some."

"But that's a good thing, right?"

"The bodies." Mrs. Van Gekk swallowed hard. Madeleine could see tears starting to form in her eyes. "When the water comes, it claims it's victims."

"But what about Lillia? Did her parents-" Madeleine couldn't force herself to say the word. "Were they swept away too?"

Mrs. Van Gekk only managed a nod. She was trying hard not to cry. Madeleine fell silent. Quiet voices in the room whirled around her, mainly the voices of children. Children, who had lost their parents, but didn't know about it. Madeleine glanced at Mrs. Van Gekk. She had the horrible job of telling them so. She looked around the room again. Mrs. Van Gekk had a horrible job, but a job that had to be done.

Suddenly Madeleine heard a cry outside. She took a step to the side to look out the window. It was Lillia. She was running back towards the side of the house where Madeleine had first met her. Mr. Van Gekk was staring after her. There was a pained expression in his eyes. While he was saying nothing, they spoke volumes. Madeleine knew what had happened instantly.

Dropping her bundles on the floor by Mrs. Van Gekk, she quickly strode forward, and left the Inn. Walking around the side of the Inn, she was greeted by... Air. There was nobody there. Lillia was nowhere to be seen. Madeleine looked around, then happened to glance up into the tree. Lillia was sitting on a rather large branch, clinging tightly to the trunk. Madeleine could see big, fat tears running down her cheeks while sobs racked her body. Lillia's dress was torn, and dirtied. Worse than Madeleine's usually was, if that was possible.

Madeleine hesitated for a moment, then leaped up, grabbed a low branch, and lightly swung herself up into the tree. She clung tightly to the trunk for a moment, trying to regain her balance. Then she forgot she was in her dress, and stepped forward. There was a ripping sound. _I hate dresses._ Madeleine instantly thought, but dismissed it. Settling down beside Lillia, she waited for the little girl to notice her.

"G-Go a-away." There was a hiccup between the words, thanks to Lillia's sobs.

"It's just me."

Lillia turned her head for a moment, glancing at Madeleine. Then she turned back away, hiding her face in the tree's rough bark. Nothing was said.

Madeleine stayed quiet. She knew the pain that came along with losing something. She had lost far too much to not understand. After a while, her arm crept around Lillia's shoulder. "I lost my parents too." She whispered. "They're not coming back either."

The little girl suddenly loosened her hold on the tree and flung her arms around Madeleine. Madeleine wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close. The sun was setting. Madeleine looked up into a pale gold sky. It reflected off the water, making a day far too beautiful for what had happened in it. "I-I miss them." Madeleine suddenly heard the little girl murmur.

"I miss my parents too." Madeleine whispered back. She curled her arm even tighter around Lillia. "But they are here, with us."

Lillia's head shot up. "Where?"

"No," Madeleine shook her head, shifting her weight so Lillia was almost balanced on her lap. "Not _here_, in person. But they will always be here." She tapped her chest. "Inside you. And they're always watching over you. You'll always have them close."

Lillia stared into the sunset for a while, taking Madeleine's words in. "I guess you're right." She breathed. "I still miss them, but it's not as bad. I-I guess that's true."

Madeleine nodded. "Of course it is."

Lillia was quiet for a while, then suddenly she perked up. "What's your name?"

"Madeleine."

"Maddie? Did Luke and Katherine _really_ live happily ever after?"

Madeleine thought for a minute, gathering things in her mind. "It's funny you ask that. I was thinking about it just after we ended the story. They really _didn't_ have a happily-ever-after. Because right after they landed on Tattoine, a giant alien landed right next to their ship! And do you know what he ate?"

"Something disgusting?" Lillia suggested. Her troubles forgotten in five sentences.

"Blood." Madeleine's eyes twinkled impishly as Lillia cringed. "Luke and Katherine were in the gravest danger once again. But what they didn't know, was that the evil Dang-Louis-the-14th hadn't died at all! He had taken an escape ship at just the last second and escaped the exploding black ship. And he was living in secret on the planet of Endor. Now, lucky for-"

Another wild tale sprung up. But this time, Madeleine used it to keep Lillia's mind off her problems. She avoided the hard topics, and stuck to a impossibly imaginative sequel of the story she had told before.

The story ended when the sun set, and when the air around the two girls got too cold for them to stay out any longer. "So Luke was separated from Katherine, but they both knew they were together. Dang-Louis-the-14th was critically wounded in the fire, and was so sick that there was the chance he would never recover. Lars repaid his nephew, and the planet of Endor was saved. The End."

Lillia's eyes were almost popping out. "But what happens next? Dang _can't_ win! You have to make Luke and Katherine have a happy ending!"

"I don't have to," Madeleine reminded her, jumping down from the tree. "It would be nice if. But sometimes, stories don't always have a happy ending. You can't please everyone."

Lillia jumped down from the tree. She was thinking hard. "I guess so. That makes sense. You can't make everyone happy, but it's worth it if you make just a few people very happy."

Madeleine nodded as they walked towards the Inn together. She glanced out over the water though. There was no boat in sight. She bit her lip worriedly. _Where's Edward?_ She thought. But she reminded herself of the words she had just told Lillia. _It's worth it if you make a few people happy._

Madeleine clutched Lillia's hand tighter and raced her to the Inn's door.

* * *

E: _Why did you even get me up at 3:30 in the morning anyway? I'm at least half awake and beginning to realize your actions._

M: _Ahem. We have a party to go to at ten. I need to get the children fed by eight, get the house clean by nine. Jane's going to be here at nine thirty, and you and I will have to speed to the party as fast as that poor run-out Honda Accord can go._

E: _Poor Honda Accord is right._

M:_ I agree. Anyway, let's start getting ready. Fiske was driving me crazy with all his phone calls yesterday. He doesn't really approve of the party. I don't think it's a bad idea._

E: _Well considering how your last one turned out, I don't really blame him._

M: _BEAN SPILLER!_

E: _Sorry, sorry, sorry... It is true._

M: _Alright, fine. Whatever. You have to tell me if the blue sweater makes me look fat and if I should wear the red one._

E: _2010 oriented... I wonder who... Let's sign off of this..._

* * *

**My gosh that's a long chapter! I was reading it and it just seemed to go on, and on, and on, and on. So if you're tired of reading long chapters, sue me. Well, I'm probably not worth suing. So don't sue. Give me flames. That's it. Flames.**

**Question; Does anyone reading this feel sorry for Edward right now? (Again...) Do you mark any resemblance from the story Madeleine** **told to... a movie? How do you think Maddie's party will go? Do you like the snorer that kept her awake all night? Did you like Edward's unable-to-wake-up-ness?**


	26. Unburied Memories

**Alright. Forgiveness is done. I think you'll see an upward turn of events where I start updating more on The Problem with Shining the Moon and other little stories I have in my head. If you don't know, I did a one-shot, (my first ever) and published it as Dearest Santa. It was a Christmas story. I should have fixed the italic problem too...**

**For all the people who are wondering what I mean by 'done', I am not **_**done**_**. This will not be the last chapter of Forgiveness. I've been writing all of this ahead of time, to I have finished the ENTIRE STORY along with epilogue now. And just need to do the italic parts. HELP WANTED!**

**LucianPeep; Yup. I know. But I like my version better. XD Besides, I came up with the premise of this story before the ninth book had even come out. So it's completely MY ideas. I tried to keep along with the regular storyline, but... Eh. I'm not that good at sticking with stuff already there for me...**

**Babysitterhater; I was sobbing after your review. Sobbing. Literally. I was so much like you when I was off the site. I would literally dream about people's stories, and, all my ideas would turn out wrong. But it was still fun to dream. I really, really appreciate your review. And I promise, I will always remember, and never forget the person who wrote me a review at 11:45 at night with 1121 characters.**

**Thank you.**

**Enjoy peoples!**

* * *

E: _Can you pass me that coffee? Yesterday is really getting back to me. Probably the fact that it's nine at night doesn't help that much either._

M: _Sure. Watch for coffee stains... I don't want to get this sweater dry-cleaned again..._

E: _Yeah, yeah. I'll do that best I'm able._

M: _Best you're able... I've seen your 'best' before..._

E: _Ahem. No comment._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-three;**

**Un-buried Memories**

Madeleine softly tucked a little girl in. Blond curls peeked impishly out from under her blanket, asking to be kissed, but Madeleine was already turning to the next child. A little boy with brown hair. He sighed softly as she pulled the blanket up to his chin. Once the children sleeping on the couch were done, Madeleine went to the children on the floor. She tucked their blankets tighter around them, and checked to make sure they were comfortable.

Once the last child was tucked in, Madeleine stood up. She still hadn't seen the little blond haired boy. And nor was Edward there at the Inn. She bit her lip just thinking about him. _What happened?_

"I saved Room Nine for you." Mrs. Van Gekk came up behind Madeleine and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Edward will come in the morning. He knows his way here."

Madeleine nodded, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the Inn's door. Somehow she kept hoping that Edward would burst through any minute. "I'm going to bed. If one of the children wake up, call me."

Madeleine nodded again. Mrs. Van Gekk left, giving something almost like a sigh before she went out of the room. _Poor child,_ She thought. _I doubt it even is Edward. My Edward. But she does seem to care about him. Whoever he is. Doesn't she?_

Madeleine settled down next to where Lillia was sleeping on the couch. The little girl looked so peaceful, blond curls spread out about her. But Madeleine saw the tiny twitches in her eyelids. The momentary frowns. The fleeting looks of horror. She knew that the image of today was passing sub-consciously in and out of the little mind. Madeleine didn't know what to do. What comfort was there to a child who's parents had just been swept away? There was none.

Madeleine sighed lightly and tucked the child in tighter. An hour passed, then two. Madeleine's eyelids felt like weights, but she didn't want to fall asleep and mis Edward. _He'll come._ Madeleine repeated to herself over and over. _He'll come. He has to. He_ must.

And then there was a soft knock at the Inn's door. Madeleine's eyes flew wide open and all sleepiness departed. She scrambled up and started running towards it, but just before she could reach the door, it opened.

It was Edward. But he had something in his arms. He held it gingerly, cradling the bundle as if it were something special. Then Madeleine saw that there were arms. They were latched tightly around Edward's neck, clinging firmly to him. Edward's eyes met hers. She saw the relief in them, and the joy of seeing her there. "Do you have another blanket?" He whispered softly. No trace of emotion came out in his voice.

Madeleine nodded and quickly grabbed one from where a pile was near the door. Edward lay the bundle down on the floor gently, but Madeleine could still hear a soft moan. She knelt on the floor herself and looked into the bundle's face.

It was the little boy who's parents she'd seen swept away.

Madeleine instantly covered him with the blanket. Gently tucking him in even more carefully than she had with the other children. The little boy's face was contorted though, twisted into a look of pure pain. Not even sleep gave him peace from the nightmare he'd lived. He rolled over once, burying his face tightly into the blankets. Madeleine wished that she could pick him up and hold him. Tell him it was alright, and that everything would be okay. But she couldn't promise that. And it was impossible to say that things were going to be alright. They might not be. He could be worse off that when he'd started.

Edward laid a hand on her shoulder, "Come outside with me."

Madeleine got up and nodded.

He led her outside. Thousands of stars twinkled above them, lighting up the world, but the air was chilled with a soft wind blowing in from the coast. Small waves lapped around the island. Almost as if they wanted to swallow it up while everyone was sleeping. Madeleine shivered. She felt Edward's hand around her waist tighten, pulling her close.

"How many are there?" He finally whispered. "Children."

She knew what he meant. "Six for sure, eight in question."

There was a white cloud of frosty breath from Edward, and silence. Madeleine waited. "That little boy we saw -the one I brought in just now. They're dead. He knows. He doesn't need anybody to tell him. Don't let the Van Gekks tell him that." Edward paused, not looking down at Madeleine, but up at the stars. "A lot of the children know what the water does, but they still cling to hope. And that's a good thing. But the blow is almost harder if they stand against it. He doesn't want to cling to that. And in truth, it's probably better he doesn't. It won't hurt as much."

Madeleine leaned her head against his shoulder, and suddenly he looked down at her.

"Who took you from the hill?"

"The Van Gekks." Madeleine whispered. "Margaret speaks French."

Edward chuckled lightly for a moment, looking away from Madeleine again. He thought for a moment. "What did she say?"

"That you'd be here soon. You knew where the Inn was at."

Edward paused and looked down at Madeleine. "You told her about me." The voice was almost accusing.

Madeleine hung her head. "Sort of. I just gave your discription. She guessed."

"I suppose you know then..." Edward murmured. His whisper trailed off.

"It's not a bad thing." Madeleine whispered back. "You didn't have to hide it from me."

"It's something I don't want to think about." Edward shot back. His voice cut through the cold like a knife.

Madeleine stayed silent, and the only reply Edward got, was the twinkling of the stars. There was quiet for a few minutes, and then Edward turned her towards him. He lifted a hand up and gently fingered the locket that hung from around her neck. Madeleine waited for him to speak.

"I miss them." He finally whispered. Only having eyes for the locket. "Some days are worse than others, but I always do. You never forget that. No matter how old you are. It stays with you." He fingered the locket for a moment longer. "It was my Mother's."

Madeleine's eyes widened. "Edward, you mean-" She quickly reached for the string tied tightly around the back of her neck and started to untie it.

"No." Edward stopped her. "I wanted you to have it."

"But if-" Madeleine bit her lip. "I couldn't Edward. Not if you want it."

A sly smile slid over Edward's face. "What would I do with it? Wear it?"

Madeleine didn't know what to say. It was true, that would be a little ridiculous. "But it's yours." She whispered back.

"And I gave it to you. Stop making excuses." Edward smiled.

"But it was hers." Madeleine shot back.

"And she gave it to me." Edward's eyes flickered down to the locket. "Before she died. And I gave it to you. Because I love you."

Madeleine didn't know what to say again. She could feel Edward, trying not to let too much loose, but giving it away all the same. And then a quick image of the little boy he had carried in hit her. They were so much alike, the two of them. Even as she looked, she could picture the little boy with Edward face -before her, older. And Edward, with the little boy's face, younger. And they had both lost the same things. In the same way. Although perhaps not at the same time.

She cursed at herself for noticing there was a soft sob in Edward's voice.

She stayed silent a moment longer. "Edward?" Madeleine whispered. "Do you mind me... telling her?"

Edward only gave a nonchalant shrug. Madeleine could see he was hiding pain with indifference. She had done it herself all too often. "She would of probably recognized me anyway if you hadn't of told her. I would of just... preferred you not telling her."

Madeleine pressed back into his embrace. She didn't want to think about the future. About what might happen to the children -or to her, for that matter. Life was too complicated to worry about it. _You just have to let it flow._ She thought. Unintentionally a yawn slipped out.

Edward chuckled lightly, laughing. "Go to bed Maddie." He whispered. "You've had a long day."

Madeleine nodded, trying to hold back another yawn. In vain. "Room nine."

Edward nodded in agreement. "Room nine."

Madeleine made her way into the Inn and started down the hallway to the rooms, but before she got there, she turned back. She wasn't sure what made her peek out of the hallway. Almost an unsolicited urge. Like the one that told her to read Luke's diary in Spain. She battled with it for a moment, then gave in. Madeleine looked around the hallway's corner.

She saw the little boy Edward had carried in, curled up tight beneath his blanket. Edward was on one knee beside him. A gentle hand caressing the blond curls -_so much alike._ Madeleine thought. She stayed there for a moment, then began walking down the hallway again towards room nine. Edward would only be a moment. She knew so.

* * *

E: _I'm too tired to say anything much. You were eavesdropping though. Not that nice._

M: _Whatever. Let's go to bed. No more 3:00. That I promise. But the party did turn out nice. I think._

E: _Sure it turned out nice. Other than you were crawling under the tables again, hiding under the bandstands, and coming close to setting the whole building on fire. Yeah, I think it went pretty nice._

M:_ I wouldn't be crawling under the tables if people wouldn't stop paying attention to me. I wouldn't be hiding under the bandstands if people weren't so afraid of being seen so close to the band, and as to setting the building on fire- I had everything under control._

E: _Phhh. Yeah right. You could use a false name to solve the problem of people bothering you, and as to setting the building on fire- do you actually think that crawling everywhere with a box of 'emergency' matches in your pocket wouldn't be dangerous?_

M: _Yes._

E: _Oh gosh... And as for your sweater. The cleaners? Talking about a new sweater!_

M: _Shut up. It's not that bad. There's just a few rips and tears here and there. Easily mended._

E: _Easily mended... A nice fifty dollar cashmere sweater. Easily mended, my eye..._

M: _Let's talk about this later..._

* * *

**A SHORT CHAPTER!**

**Question; Do you like your explanation for Maddie's necklace? I've forgotten who asked the question... Oh, and how's Maddie's party? Did you like that? I thought it was so funny. I'm still laughing when I read it...**


	27. Temporary Adoption

**100+ reviews! I feel so loved! Thank you everybody for everything!**

**39CFan; *giggle* I forgot, somewhere along the 15 Chapter line... Thanks for reminding me! And you're welcome.**

**Everybody really thought the locket part was sad. Wow. I'll have to see who's crying when we get up to the 32-36 Chapters. *grins* But anyway, Thank you again. You're probably all happy that I'm updating so much. It's amazing. Four Chapters in _ amount of days! *punches the air in jubilation***

**Now, anybody who has ideas for the italic parts is welcome to help. Please PM me. I need IDEAS! Think Holidays, Birthdays, (Think what Maddie could do with a 'decorated' Birthday cake!) Sports games, Funny things your family does. All ideas are welcome. Except bad ideas that have language in them, or anything above saying the word 'kiss'. Those are excluded.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

M: _My ears hurt._

E: _I'll say! Fiske was yelling for at least half an hour! I told you that party was a bad idea..._

M: _It was a good idea! Perhaps it just- wasn't carried out that well..._

E: _Can't you just admit it? It was a bad idea, and you are no party host._

M: _NOT TRUE! Of course I'll never admit it! Let's write this and get it over with..._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-four;**

**Temporary Adoption**

When Edward woke up, he curled his arm a bit tighter around Madeleine -and felt a flash of hot pain shoot down his left side. _Punishment for swimming the better part of ten hours._ Edward groaned to himself._ Oh well._

He pushed himself up. Madeleine sighed below him, still sleeping. Edward pulled a tunic over his head and opened the door to room nine. There were only snores in the hallway. Everyone else was sleeping. _Good_.

Stepping carefully out into the hallway, Edward walked to the main room of the Inn. There wasn't that much light when he got there. It was still dark outside, probably only around five o'clock. All the children around the room were sleeping. Edward's eyes flickered as they rested on each individual child, counting them.

_Eleven... Twelve... Thirteen... Fourteen... And- _His thoughts were broken off. Where was Wade? Edward looked frantically around the room, only to find the little boy sitting in a chair by the window. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, just watching. Looking for something to break the monotony of what had happened in his life. Perhaps with the wish that he would see his parents.

Edward knew that wish was altogether too much to hope for. He had wished for it so often himself.

It had never come true.

He made his way over to the little boy and kneeled on one knee beside him. Wade looked at him, and then away. "Good morning," He whispered in Dutch.

Edward nodded, "The same. How did you sleep last night?"

The little blond haired boy turned away so Edward wouldn't see the tears forming in his eyes. It was enough to watch your parents die in front of your eyes. Too much to watch it repeated over and over again. "Fine."

The two of them watched the water lapping around the island from the window until the sun was completely up. Finally Edward turned away towards the Inn's door. "Come outside with me. I want to tell you something."

* * *

M: _So that's how you snuck away..._

E: _I didn't sneak, if you notice, I didn't want to wake you up since you were sleeping. And everyone else was also sleeping. Or you were too busy..._

M: _Write._

* * *

_It was just last night!_ Madeleine thought desperately. Edward had disappeared. Again. The little boy he had brought in last night was gone as well- into thin air. So much for Edward helping her. Madeleine thrust her floured hands into the dough again. She had been recruited by the Innkeepstress along with five other women to help with the cooking. It seemed like the entire town of Tiel had crowded into the main room to get breakfast. Who cared? Let them. Madeleine sighed as she thrust another batch of dough into a pan to start rising. They had enough bread to feed the French army.

If that weren't enough, the Inn was full of noise. The children were running around and trying to see how many adults they could dodge without hitting. The adults were talking about everything from prized Yorkshire Terriers to stuffed teddy bears. And in the kitchen, orders were being thrust out every which way. Madeleine felt like her head was going to explode.

"Madeleine?" Madeleine felt a tug on her skirt. She was wearing a green dress that Mrs. Van Gekk had lent her. It was in the Dutch style, woolen, and it itched. "Madeleine?"

Madeleine looked down. Lillia had both hands on her skirt and was looking pleadingly up into her eyes. Asking her for something. "Yes." Madeleine scooted out of the way so another cook could grab the wooden spoon she needed.

"We want a story." Lillia pointed to two other children behind her. They didn't look quite Dutch, not completely. "I won't have to translate. We all speak French."

Madeleine stared at the girl. She was looking anxiously into Madeleine's face, as if trying to will her to stop her work. "Alright." Madeleine took Lillia's hand. Here was an answer to her prayers. Telling stories instead of kneading dough? Who wouldn't take a chance to get away. "Sure. Let me check with Elizabeth. If she says yes, I'll do it."

Madeleine walked over to the Innkeepstress and asked if she could leave with the children.

Elizabeth nodded hastily, not paying much attention. "Anything to keep them happy. Just don't go far."

Madeleine nodded, an inner smile starting to grow. They were surrounded by water. How far could the children wander? She ushered her three charges to the door, managing to squeeze between Mr. Van Gekk and the large fat man he was talking to who stood in front of the door. Then they were outside. Madeleine was surprised as they stood on the front steps. It was a beautiful day, only nobody was outside. Except Edward, wherever he happened to be.

"Over by the tree!" Lillia grabbed Madeleine's hand and towed her around the corner of the Inn. The two other little children followed, wondering what their playmate was so excited about. "Now," Lillia's eyes twinkled like stars they were so excited. "Tell about Luke Starkiller again, and Princess Katherine!"

"But you've heard that one!" Madeleine settled down under the tree, with Lillia quickly crawling into her lap as soon as it was available.

"They haven't." Lillia gestured to her friends who had sat down beside them. "Tell it again." There was a pause, and then; "Please."

"Alright." Madeleine turned towards the other children -her audience. "So, once, on a planet, far, far away, way out past the stars, there was a planet called Tattoine. Now this entire planet was covered with sand, as far as anyone had ever looked. But breaking up the sand, were little oases, with towns around them. One of the towns was called Karachi, and in it, lived a boy named Luke Starkiller. He was brave. Braver than anyone else! And he decided to search for the end of the desert!"

The children's eyes widened, even Lillia's who had heard the story before. Madeleine followed her original storyline, but twisted the plot, making everything more exciting so she could hold the children's attention. A few hours passed and boats and people left, all unnoticed by the foursome.

* * *

"...And there was an enormous BANG that shattered the entire dark battleship! Luke and Katherine-" There was a sudden little yelp from the tree. The four girls' heads looked up to see an object falling towards them. The object crashed in the middle of the girls' circle. A head with blond hair poked itself up. It had blue eyes.

Lillia scrambled up and crossed her arms, looking down at the little boy. "What are you doing here Wade Van Deylk?" She demanded. Madeleine had to try hard not to smile. The little girl was so childish when she did it. "You weren't invited."

"I-" Wade glanced hastily into the trees then back at Lillia. He spoke French as well. "There isn't a law that says I can't listen in." Madeleine recognized him as the little boy who's parents had been swept away. "Besides, I want to find out what happens to Luke and Katherine! And Edward does-" It seemed like the boy had been told not to tell, for a sudden flush crept into his cheeks.

_Edward..._ Madeleine's head shot up and she stared hard into the bare aspen branches above. Sure enough, there was a figure, laughing. "Edward you- you rascal!" Madeleine scrambled to her feet and glared at him. "I was worried sick about you!"

Edward swung down two branches so he was on the lowest one, and his foot was just by Madeleine's head. "You don't look green."

"Why in the world should I-" Then Madeleine caught what he was saying. "Sure. Fine. Make fun. But I still woke up and you were gone!"

Edward winced. "I'm sorry. But I didn't want to wake you up. It was early. Now, what happens to Luke and Katie?"

"You scamp!" Madeleine's eyes flashed. "You were listening to the story the whole time up in that tree weren't you."

"No."

"Sure." Madeleine crossed her arms and glared harder at him.

"Well, me and Wade were."

Madeleine's mouth twitched as she turned back around. All the children were seated in a circle, with Wade, waiting for her to start the story again. "Alright," Madeleine sighed. "Where was I?"

"Luke and Katherine- did something." Edward dropped down beside her, and then plopped onto the ground, waiting for the story also.

"You're impossible." Madeleine murmured, sitting down as well. Then she thought for a minute. "So when the dark battle ship exploded, Luke and Katherine leaped away and landed safely on the Jedi-Windo ship. Hans pulled them safely aboard and they sped off to Tattoine where they lived happily-ever-after in Luke's old home by the oasis. The End."

"But that can't be the end!" Wade suddenly broke out, pleading. "What happens to Lars? And the town of Karachi? And-"

"Lars became a sailor." Lillia, grinning broadly, took over Madeleine's roll as storyteller. "And he sailed people to different stars. And the town of Karachi became the biggest boom-town the planet of Tattoine had ever known."

Madeleine observed the reactions of the children one-by-one as the story finished. Wade watched, intrigued. The other two girls stared wide-eyed at Lillia, and Edward looked at Madeleine and smiled. She shook her head laughingly and smiled back. Then as she watched, the children scampered off, back to the Inn, chattering loudly about something.

"I liked the story."

Madeleine glanced at Edward and rolled her eyes. "Sneak."

Edward gave her a sheepish smile, "Guilty as charged. But it wasn't my fault that you four decided to pick the tree we were sitting under. It wasn't like Wade and I could drop down in the middle of the story and say, 'Hi'."

"True." Madeleine gave a nod to acknowledge his point. "But you could of told us that you were there before we started. Besides, there isn't another tree here."

"It was an interesting story." Edward admitted. And then there was silence. "Were those names just random?" He whispered, as if happening to think up the question.

Madeleine looked over the sea. It was funny, if she looked hard enough, she could almost make out what seemed to be a house that was on ground high enough that it wasn't swallowed up by the water. But that had to be just an illusion. "No."

Edward didn't press the question.

"Maddie!" Madeleine turned to see Lillia running to her. She was out of breath by the time she reached her since she was running so fast, and she plopped down on the grass panting.

"What is it?"

"Mrs- Mrs. Van Gekk-" There were a few pants so Lillia could catch her breath. "Mrs. Van Gekk wants to talk to you. She- she sent me to tell you."

"Goodness, you didn't have to run yourself out to tell me that." Madeleine stood up and gave her hand to the little girl. She took it.

"Mrs. Van Gekk said it's important!" Lillia suddenly held her hands up and reached for Madeleine. Madeleine scooped her up and cradled Lillia in her arms. She felt a warm glow of pleasure when Lillia wrapped her arms around her neck and gave a yawn.

"I'll bet it's time for your nap." Madeleine whispered. But Lillia didn't reply. She was already asleep.

"It's about one o' clock." There was a murmur from Edward behind Madeleine while she turned the corner of the Inn. "It was time for her nap two hours ago. It was time for all their naps two hours ago actually. Wade's especially. I think he was up half the night."

Madeleine wanted to ask why, but she didn't want to ask with Lillia in her arms and with her walking up the steps of the Inn. Edward held open the door for her and she walked inside.

Inside the Inn, the bustle and scurry had calmed down. There were only a few adults in the room. Mrs. Van Gekk, Edward and Madeleine consisting of the majority of them. Most of the children were either playing quiet games on the floor, or were asleep on the couch. Wade was in the corner by the window, holding something, Madeleine couldn't see what with Lillia in her arms. Perhaps she could have Edward tell her later.

Mrs. Van Gekk quickly grabbed a few blankets and made a spot on the couch. Madeleine laid Lillia down and gently tucked the blanket in around her.

"So what was it you wanted to say?" Madeleine asked when she was done. "Lillia came racing up to me like her dress was on fire."

Mrs. Van Gekk smiled wryly, "It could be for what I was going to ask you. Could we step outside for a moment?"

Madeleine nodded and turned around, but she noticed that Edward wasn't behind her anymore. He had wandered off to examine something near Wade's corner and the window. Madeleine caught his eye and motioned towards the door. _I'm going outside._ Edward gave a slight nod that he understood.

* * *

On the path up to the Inn, Mrs. Van Gekk turned around, "Who was that young man? I don't think I've ever seen him before."

"Oh." Madeleine blinked. "That- that was Edward. He came last night, late."

Madeleine watched all the color drain from Mrs. Van Gekk's face. "_Edward_? But that- that-" She shook her head. "He doesn't look like-"

"He did?"

Mrs. Van Gekk nodded. "I can only picture him as a child."

Madeleine smiled shyly, "I can only picture him as he is now." There were shared glances and shared smiles. "So what did you want to tell me?" Madeleine asked.

Mrs. Van Gekk bit her lip, thinking. "It's not just for you exactly. It's better if we wait till Edward comes out. Will he?"

There was a shrug from Madeleine. "Perhaps. But with Edward, it can take an hour, a day, or a week. You never know."

"That's just like him." Mrs. Van Gekk murmured. "Always trying to keep people guessing; always on their toes."

There was a soft click as the Inn's door closed and both of the women turned around to see who it was. Edward walked towards them, eyes twinkling. "So what is the big, great exciting news that Lillia had to run herself to sleep getting it to us?"

"Edward Von Anderson - you- you rascal!" Mrs. Van Gekk exclaimed, shaking her head in astonishment.

Edward only laughed, "Second time I've been called that in an hour."

"You deserve it too." Mrs. Van Gekk scolded, but then she grabbed Edward's arms and looked him up and down. "You've grown." She finally admitted.

Edward rolled his eyes. "That's what happens when you don't see someone for a long time." Madeleine watched both of them. Edward had a smile twitching on the corners of his mouth; an impish twinkle in his eyes. He was happier than he would ever tell.

"... If you could do that... Well, I think Lillia and Wade have taken to you."

Madeleine realized that Mrs. Van Gekk had been talking to her. "I'm sorry. I- I didn't catch that. My mind was off somewhere else."

The woman shook her head laughingly. "You explain Edward."

Edward took Madeleine's hand and led her a few feet off. For a moment, Madeleine thought she saw a glimmer of something in his eyes. Uncertainty. He was nervous. But when did Edward ever get nervous? She waited for him to speak.

He took a deep breath and started in. Almost like he was plunging into something that he didn't know. Edward bit his lip. "It's weird." He finally spoke. "I never thought I'd be saying this. Not in the way I'm saying it now. But you know that both Lillia and Wade's parents are dead. They can't live here at the Inn for the rest of their lives. They need homes Madeleine. A family. Margaret wants to know if we can give them that."

Madeleine blinked.

"I'm not going to make the decision alone." Edward shook his head lightly, keeping his eyes on Madeleine the whole time. "It needs both of our agreements. I won't stop you if you say no, but..." He paused for a moment, "I'm not going to be sobbing if you say yes."

"You wouldn't start sobbing anyway." Madeleine murmured.

Edward rolled his eyes. "It's a figure of speech Madeleine. Yes, or no?"

"I-" As Madeleine looked down at the ground, her fingertips slid up to her belly. She could almost feel a light suspicion of something she hoped for. Something that wouldn't be the same if Wade and Lillia were let into the equation. "Edward... I- I don't think so." Madeleine shook her head. "Adoption just... Anything else, but not that. I want our own children."

Edward nodded slowly, understanding. Squeezing Madeleine's hand, he walked her back to Mrs. Van Gekk. She easily read the look on their faces. "Temporarily then?" She asked. "Just until Hans and I can find them a permanent home? Elizabeth has enough on her hands now. She can't even balance two more."

Edward looked at Madeleine for her agreement. She nodded eagerly. "I don't mind that. But Edward and I, we were just passing through. Where would-"

"Simple." Mrs. Von Gekk practically glowed with pleasure. "Hans and I won't be home for a while. You can stay there as long as you need to."

Madeleine's face took a confused look. "But- the water."

"Our house doesn't get covered either. We're lucky." Mrs. Van Gekk pointed off into the distance, vaguely identifying a shape that Madeleine couldn't see.

Edward only nodded, understanding. Madeleine could of kicked him, since whatever Mrs. Van Gekk was saying wasn't clicking with her. "Alright. How soon can we-"

The sentence was again cut off by Mrs. Van Gekk, who answered the question without being finished again. "As soon as possible.* But we can leave now, or tomorrow. Whenever you feel like it."

Edward shrugged with indifference, but Madeleine noticed a slight smile twitching on his lips. "We'll leave now then. There's no wind so it'll go quicker. Madeleine and I will get our things and you can tell Wade and Lillia what's going on."

Nodding, Mrs. Van Gekk quickly pointed out a boat bobbing nearby. Madeleine recognized it as the same boat that had taken her from the mini-mountain. "I'll meet you here in ten minutes."

"Or less." Edward corrected her.

"Or less."

* * *

Trailing behind, Madeleine brought up the rear as the small party walked back to the Inn. She had understood why Edward hadn't said the question straight out. But even with the words twisted, they still echoed in her head. Edward had wanted her to say yes. Wanted for her to say they could adopt Lillia and Wade. _But... why? Edward would of told me if there was something wrong going on._ Madeleine closed the Inn's door gently behind her with a click and started towards room nine. Edward stayed behind with Mrs. Van Gekk.

Gathering up their things, Madeleine still had everything running through her mind. _"They need homes Madeleine. A family."_ Was that what Edward had wanted? A home? A family to love him like the one he'd lost? But the Van Gekks had tried their hardest to give him that. _So..._ Madeleine tied the two bundles with a loose knot. She didn't bother to tighten it. What had Edward meant then?

Madeleine opened and shut the room door, then walked down the hallway. Glancing out the Inn's window, she saw Edward and Mrs. Van Gekk lifting the two children into the boat. She could picture Edward easily as Wade. She could see the laughter hidden in a pool inside. But on the outside, Wade was reserved and reticent. Hiding his life away beneath layers of un-emotion. Edward did that. Hiding from her -her and the world.

_And that's why!_ Madeleine blinked, and it was if her eyes had just been opened. Edward had wanted Wade and Lillia to give them that. To give them the family that they'd lost. To try and heal up everything that he could, so they wouldn't have to go through life with a scar. Even as she watched out the window, Edward tossed Wade up in the air. Both of them laughed. Lillia squealed and leaped up and down with her hands up to show she wanted to be thrown too.

_It's impossible though not to love him._

A soft smile spread over Madeleine's face. And then she realized she was standing in the middle of the Inn's main room like an idiot. Madeleine instantly flushed a beet red and scurried out the door.

* * *

E: _Sometimes I wonder if you over analyze things... You think too hard._

M: _Perhaps. ONWARD WRITING PENS!_

E: _And too crazily... Oh! And you knew about-_

M: _SHUT UP YOU CRAZY BEAN SPILLER!_

E: _Ah-hem... That was rather rude..._

M: _Sorry. __Write Edward._

* * *

The Van Gekk's home was a comfortable cottage. It was set up on a relatively level plateau that stretched for a mile. You could walk fully around the cottage without stepping foot in the water, but if you took more than a few strides away from the house, you would be walking in water hidden by grass.

Madeleine watched carefully as Lillia leaned out over the edge of the boat. Wade was seated nearby with Mrs. Van Gekk. Madeleine found the Van Gekks' cottage intriguing. It wasn't French, so it didn't hold much promise, but it was still intriguing. That was a start. The entire outside was white-washed and the roof had been thatched thickly and with care.

"You're nervous." Madeleine suddenly heard Edward whisper in her ear.

She glanced at him, "Why?"

"Your eyes look like they want to break out of your head and run away from you. Besides-" He gave a little nod to her hands. "You're fingering Olivia's ring like it's going to disappear tomorrow." Madeleine felt Edward's arm wrap comfortingly around her waist. "Don't worry. It's not like the house is going to eat you up."

She had to give a little chuckle, but Madeleine couldn't seem to stop doing her nervous little quirks. And then the boat struck land. Edward and Mrs. Van Gekk leaped out and secured the tie. Wade and Lillia jumped out next, running full-out towards the door, anxious to see who would get there first.

Mrs. Van Gekk laughed looking at them as Madeleine stepped out of the boat with her and Edward's bundles. "Let them snoop around for a little while. It'll do them good. And it'll do you some good too. Don't bother about messing anything up. That house is so old it would be messed up if someone put a foot in the doorway. Take whatever you need from the cellar, it's well stocked. If the stove gives you problems, make sure you didn't put that much wood in. It'll go fine on just one or two pieces. Hans and I ought to be back before the week is out!" Mrs. Van Gekk undid the boat tie, leaped in, and waved.

Madeleine didn't really know what she was waving for. How in the world was she going to do anything?_ Make sure the stove doesn't have that much wood?_ How was she going to work in this place? How was she going to-?

For a second, Madeleine wanted to run into the water and chase after the boat. _Take me away from this island!_ She thought, wanting to the scream the words out loud, but not daring. _Take me away! Back to France, back to Spain! Just so it's anywhere but here!_ But the words wouldn't come out. The sun was just starting to set, and Madeleine could see the boat against the light as it started to fade off into the distance. _But Edward wouldn't go with me._ Was her next thought. And she was comforted. If she had Edward it wouldn't be that bad. But still...

Madeleine clutched the two bundles tightly in her fists and started for the house. "Wait." _Now what?_ Madeleine swallowed hard. Edward had been right. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her. She stopped, and then felt Edward's gentle hand on her shoulder. He spun her around to face him. "It's alright Mads, I just wanted to ask you a question. You- you do know that my name isn't Cahill. Right?"

Madeleine flushed and looked down at the ground. She nodded. "I just- I didn't know it then. I-" A thought hit her. "I guess I'm Madeleine Elizabeth Von Anderson now though. I... never really thought about it. I didn't think to ask."

"No," Edward slid his finger under her chin and tilted it so she was looking him in the eye. "That's what I wanted to talk about. I was just thinking..." His voice droned off and Edward dropped his eyes.

"What?" Madeleine curiosity was sparked.

He still didn't meet her eyes. "I was thinking that it might be better if the world lost a Von Anderson, just to keep a Cahill with good intentions."

Madeleine blinked, stunned. She didn't know what to say. "But- Edward that- that's not right. You can't take my name. It's just... wrong." It wasn't exactly wrong in the sense that Madeleine had used it, but she didn't know how to describe it. Girls just took their husbands' names. It had always been that way. And Madeleine had taken it for granted that, that was what would happen to her too.

Edward thought for a moment, pondering what she'd said. Madeleine watched him, thinking as well. _He looks like a Greek philosopher that needs a beard._ Madeleine giggled and felt Edward's scrutiny fall on her. "What?"

"Nothing. I was... just thinking."

"So was I. You interrupted."

Madeleine had to giggle again. "I couldn't help it. What were you going to say?"

Edward thought for another second, then turned to her. "When I asked you to marry me, I would of asked Gideon if he were there. He wasn't, but if he was, I'm sure he would of said 'no'. If Gideon wasn't there, I would of asked Olivia. She wasn't, but if she was, I'm sure she would of said 'no' also. I could of gone all the way down the line- asking. But none of them were there. So I asked the person who really mattered. Who my asking really made a difference to. And she said yes. If Gideon had said 'yes', that I could marry you -which he never would have- but if he did, and you hadn't wanted to, it would of been wrong. _That_ would of been wrong."

Madeleine searched through his words and couldn't find anything. "Wait... What's your point? I'm not getting it."

Edward's mouth twitched in a shape that suspiciously resembled a smile. "If I had done what I actually should of done, we would never be here, where we are now. You've jumped off of plenty of cliffs before. I don't see why this could be even a little bit different."

Madeleine thought for a minute. "So you're basically saying that you would do that... for me?"

Edward shrugged.

"Edward Cahill..." Madeleine murmured softly, looking up at him. She could almost feel him squirm under her gaze. There could of been a giggle. "I like it. A lot better than Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill Von Anderson. It has a ring to it -like Charlie Edmunds."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "I hope not like that."

Shaking her head, Madeleine laughed and switched both of her bundles to one hand, then wriggled her fingers in Edward's. "Don't worry, it sounds nothing like that."

* * *

E: _I still think Charlie Edmunds sounds stupid. Maybe not to a guy who was named that, but I like Edward Cahill a lot better._

M: _So do I._

E: _Have you noticed we don't agree with each other that often? We agree, but it's sort of like multiple compromises._

M: _Agreed._

E: _Wow! Two times in a row! Amazing! Oh, and what was that thing about a Greek philosopher?_

M: _Sometimes the truth can hurt. It was my random mind at work again. Actually, maybe I'll have fun with that next Halloween... Okay. I'm off to bed. I'm tired._

E: _Greek philosophers... I'm going to Greek philosopher her. I wish she'd let me get away that easy with going to bed..._

* * *

**I'm so sorry. Another long chapter...**

*** Notice people, that I didn't abbreviate 'As Soon As Possible'.**

**My notice here is- I never really said what Edward told Wade. I just noticed that actually, and I wanted to say that I never really wanted to put it in the story. It's one of those things author's want to leave to their readers' imaginations. What do **_**you **_**think Edward told Wade?**

**Question; Oo! What's happening to Maddie?** ***insert a million exclamation points here.***


	28. From Stories, to Dinner

**People want me to update...**

**I'm trying, I'm trying. I'm pretty sure I'm succeeding too, because if I wasn't, I wouldn't be typing now. So, enjoy all peoples of the world...**

* * *

E: _That was definitely, the lamest, most inappropriate, in-formal way to greet the president of the United States. He could of had you put in prison for the rest of your life. He's a Lucian..._

M: _The jerk didn't even know who I was. Besides, he insulted the Madrigals!_

E: _Of course he insulted the Madrigals. He's a Lucian, not a Madrigal._

M: _I wish the Bush's were still in office... I miss them._

E: _Unfortunately, that can't be helped. Ever since crazy-but-mostly-nice-like-you Roosevelt took office it cut out all our chances of getting another president in office over eight years. You know, now that I think about it, Roosevelt was a lot like you._

M: _Don't start Ed..._

E: _No! Seriously! I think he was! Enthusiastic for lot of ideas whether they were good or bad, and almost crazy. Like you._

M: _You know, I can stand being crazy, and calling myself crazy, but when people say it as an insult, it's not really that nice._

E: _Pity._

M: _Fine, whatever. I'm crazy, we've covered that. Start writing._

* * *

_Two Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Twenty-five;**

**From Stories to Dinner**

"... And with a mighty blow, Luke stuck the evil Louis down! But-" Madeleine leaned down and slid a batch of cookies into the oven.

"What happens next?" Lillia, who was shelling peas, looked up wide-eyed. "You can't end it there like you did with the last one!"

Madeleine gave a little smile. "You have to give me time to know what's going to happen next. I don't know what's going to happen any more than you do. I'd tell you if I knew. Give me till tomorrow afternoon to think about it. Then I'll tell it to you when we're making dinner. Can you pass me that knife? Be careful."

Lillia handed Madeleine the knife, pouting. It was almost a routine. Madeleine would make up a story, end it at some exciting part, and then continue it the next day. Of course, Lillia wasn't happy with the 'routine', but it was their silent pact to help each other get dinner on the table. Lillia knew how to work everything in Holland, and Madeleine would cook the meals -and tell stories. It had worked out well.

_Maybe too well._ Madeleine thought wryly, setting the knife down and straightening up to grab a bunch of carrots. Almost without thinking, Madeleine's hand crept to her belly, settling on the bump growing there. It was pleasantly large, a comfortable weight settling itself on her hips. _Stop it Mads._ Madeleine grabbed the carrots and turned back to the wooden cutting board. _You have eight months at least. Maybe more._ "Lillia, could you hand me two potatoes? Large ones. Don't spill the-"

The pea basket on Lillia's lap flew forward as she got up to get the potatoes. There was a scramble, and then Lillia had caught the basket against her knees without losing one pea. "I'm a good catch."

Madeleine forced down a smile, but she felt her eyes still twinkling impishly. "You'd be a better catch if you didn't have to catch anything, but could catch it if you had to."

Lillia rolled her eyes and set the basket of peas down on her chair. Then handed Madeleine the potatoes. "Maybe. But it hasn't been proven."

The two girls looked at each other, laughing.

"You win." Madeleine patted Lillia's seat. "Sit down and finish your peas. I have more for you when you're done." There was another roll of the eyes, but Lillia did as she was asked. Turning right, Madeleine opened a cabinet to look for some vanilla. _Not there... Not that one... Behind the cinnamon? No... There!_ Taking the bottle, Madeleine opened the tightly closed cap and sniffed.

Usually, when Madeleine smelled vanilla, it made her smile. The scent was thick and sweet. It could cover up anything, and it always made things taste better. But when the scent hit her nose that time, the sweet odor didn't make her smile. Her stomach twisted, once, twice, and Madeleine flew out the back door, hands clamped tightly over her mouth.

* * *

After her stomach had been emptied, Madeleine turned away from the water so she wouldn't see the remains of her lunch. She found Lillia standing in the doorway, a concerned look on her face. "Are you alright?"

Madeleine gave Lillia a watery smile. "I'm fine. The vanilla must not of sat with me." Watchful, Lillia let Madeleine back into the house, but tracked her every move, making sure she was safe. "Back to your peas." Lillia sat down and started shelling the dry pea pods without looking at them. Madeleine didn't look at her, knowing that she would have to meet Lillia's eyes. _It's rude to stare. _Madeleine thought for a moment, but she didn't correct the girl.

After a while, Lillia finished her basket of peas. She placed the basket on the counter and stood next to Madeleine. "Madeleine?"

"Hmm?" Madeleine turned to her, peeling potatoes.

"Are you going to have a baby?"

Madeleine put down her knife and the potato and gave her complete attention to Lillia. "Now what makes you think that?"

Lillia looked down at the ground and rubbed a bare foot across a pine knot in the wood flooring. "My Mother was going to have a baby before she- before the water came. She threw up a lot when something didn't sit that well with her too."

Madeleine looked at the little face. "I think I'm going to have a baby." She whispered softly. "I don't know for sure yet, but I think so."

Lillia reached for one of the chopped carrot slices and Madeleine's hand hovered warningly over the fingers. "Is it a boy or a girl, do you think?"

"Oh goodness," Madeleine shook her head. "It's only been about a month Lillia. I don't know. The baby hasn't even started to move much yet. Why do you ask?"

Lillia flushed red, which was unusual for her. "I..." She looked up at Madeleine and swallowed hard. "We're not going to be with you for much longer, and well- I thought that if you had a baby, and if you named it 'Wade' if it was a boy, and 'Lillia' if it was a girl, then it wouldn't feel like we were so far apart from each other."

Madeleine held open her arms and hugged Lillia tight to her. "I would be honored to do that Lil."

The little girl wrapped her arms around Madeleine, and they stayed like that for a long moment. Then Lillia broke free, eyes flashing wildly, looking everywhere, but at the same time, straight at Madeleine only. "What about Edward and Wade? Can I tell them? Or... have you told them already?"

"You can tell Wade." Madeleine smiled, her hands resting on her belly. "But don't tell Edward. I want to tell him myself that he's going to be a Father soon."

Lillia nodded eagerly. "If-"

There was a knock at the door. Madeleine watched as Lillia's face lit up. "I'll get it!" She rushed towards the door.

"Wait!" Rushing forward, Madeleine stopped her, wary. "It's not Wade and Edward," She whispered. "Edward never knocks. Remember? It's not them."

Lillia thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly, not matching her excitement before. "Do you think it's a robber?"

Madeleine stifled the urge to laugh. "No. But I'll answer the door, not you." Lillia nodded and stepped back. Cracking open the door, Madeleine peeked outside. There was a man standing there. He was dressed in the common, loose Dutch clothing that mostly everyone always wore, with wooden clogs and a cap. "Can I help you?"

"Ahh!" The man exclaimed, leaning back in a relaxed position. "Is this where the Van Gekks live?"

Madeleine nodded, rather startled and unnerved at the accented French with the occasional Dutch word thrown in. "They're not home at the moment though."

"I know that." The man dismissed her words with a wave of his hand. "But I had a horrible time finding this place. Horrible. It's hard enough to find their house without the water being here. Harder with it. The Van Gekks told me to give Edward a message though. Tell me though, is he in?"

Madeleine shook her head, opening the door a little wider. The man was no robber. She could see that much. She was puzzled though at his pronunciation of Edward's name. He said it almost like his name was 'Ateoord' rather than 'Edward'. "He's gone for the day. But if you give me the message I can tell him later."

"Say..." The man suddenly crimped an eyebrow, a smile on his face. "You're Madeleine aren't you. Mrs. Van Gekk was talking about you. Said you had the best French she'd heard in years. Comes from France you know. Left her home and family." He shook his head and clucked his tongue sympathetically against the roof of his mouth. "Pity. But if you can tell Edward, that'd be a deal easier on me."

A bit of crimson slipped into Madeleine's cheeks. "What's the message?"

The man had a bit of a stubble on his chin, and he scratched at it. "The Van Gekks said to tell you two that they wouldn't be back for maybe another two weeks. They went to check on a different town a bit West of here. They said not to worry, and- Say..." He scratched at his beard again. "That little girl, what's-her-name around here?"

"Lillia?" Madeleine opened the door wider so Lillia wouldn't be squashed as she squeezed her way between Madeleine and the door.

"I'm here!"

The man laughed. A big, booming laugh that could almost match Edward's in its volume and capacity. "They said not to let her eat that many sweets."

Lillia's face fell. "They said that?"

The man nodded, then took a few steps off and waved. "Take care!" And then he strode to the rowboat and was rowing away before Madeleine could blink an eye.

"Great." Lillia turned to Madeleine and stuck out her lower lip. "You won't follow what he said to do, will you?"

"Perhaps." There was an impish twinkle in Madeleine's eye. "Just perhaps. And come back over into the kitchen. I've got more peas for you to shell Lil."

Lillia groaned.

* * *

_Three Hours Later;_

When Edward came back, Madeleine never knew what to expect. He and Wade could be lying in wait by the wood pile, ready to jump out at their unsuspecting victim when she went to get more wood. He could walk in the back door as calmly and sedately as you please and then kiss her right in front of the children. Or he could barge in the front door, and before Madeleine knew what was happening, swoop her up in her arms and hold her close.

She didn't really care what happened, but she did wish that she would get a little warning. Lillia and Wade didn't mind either way. They would go up to Edward and beg to be thrown in the air. They had learned that he rarely denied them their wish. The escapade usually ended with a giant round of laughter and a kiss for Madeleine to make up for her being too big to be thrown.

When the hour-candle* marked six, Madeleine listened hard for the sound of running feet to symbol Edward's coming. It took a few minutes, but she finally heard it. Lillia heard it too. She pushed the last plate she had, to finish setting the table, and then ran for the door. She had gotten halfway across the room when it flew open and Edward tossed her up into the air, nearly to the ceiling.

There was a squeal, and then Wade was bouncing at Edward's heels, begging to be thrown too. Giving a last slice to the loaf of bread, Madeleine set her knife down and wiped her hands on her apron. Her eyes flashed over the table. Everything was ready. She turned her attention to the three people laughing in the entranceway.

Madeleine felt left out... slightly. But not entirely. _Edward knows I'm here._ And then Madeleine slid her hands down to her belly. For a moment, she thought she felt something. A kick, or a tiny wiggle, but then it was gone. _Just me... and the baby._ She looked up again and saw that the excitement and the laughter was dying down. "Alright," She set the plate of bread on the table. "Go get washed up for dinner. Everything's set and ready."

Lillia practically dragged Wade off to the room. Madeleine knew it was to tell him about the baby. Edward gave a final chuckle, unknowing, and turned to her. _Tell him now!_ A brain flash hit Madeleine. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't force them out. And then Edward's arms slipped around her and she forgot everything.

"So how was today?"

"Good." Madeleine closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. "Fine." _More than fine actually. Much better than good. Can you feel the baby? Is he growing?_ But she couldn't say the words.

If Edward felt anything, he didn't mention it. He let her go with a soft kiss. "Just be careful. The repairs are coming along well on the dike. It ought to be up within the month. And then the water will start to go down."

Madeleine nodded, suddenly remembering the message she was suppose to pass on. "A man came to see you today."

Edward raised an eyebrow in surprise and confusion, "Really?"

Madeleine nodded. "He said that the Van Gekks went to a town West of here. They won't be back for another two weeks."

Rolling his eyes, Edward laughingly shook his head. "To Gonnchem? That means they'll most likely be gone for three weeks. Margaret always did try to make it sound better than it seems." Still chuckling lightly, he sniffed the air and finished the conversation just as Lillia and Wade scampered into the room. "Dinner smells good."

* * *

E:_ Phhh... You didn't want to let me know... Thanks a lot!_

M: _A surprise! What is the meaning of a surprise to you?_

E: _A call at eight at night from Fiske Cahill like who's calling now. Bye._

M: _Oh for heaven's sake... I guess we're done here people..._

* * *

***You know when I was typing Edward sitting in 'The Center of Paris Caf****é****'? I had him looking at a grandfather clock. Later on, I found out that clocks weren't invented till the 17****th**** century. There were only hour candles, which were candles with notches on them so when they burned down, it marked an hour. So with that, I put in an hour candle instead of a clock. Sorry if it confused anybody...**

**Question; Excited? When does Maddie tell Edward? *grins slyly* Did you enjoy the 'president' thing? I was a little stumped there, so it's pretty random, but anyway, did you like it?**


	29. I Brought You a Forgetmenot

**Tina/Miranda; Trust me. I have not excluded Luke and Katherine, and Thomas, and Jane. Believe me, what sort of story would it be if I did that? A very crappy one I assure you. No, they will not be running into each other randomly on the streets of Teil. An interesting thought. I wish I'd thought of that. But no, it will not be happening. Sorry.**

**As pertaining to the 'baby' question. I honestly don't know. I went and researched a little bit, but I really didn't want to think of that sort of stuff. So I will remain clueless until I have to be clued in when I'm 20/24 years old and know that answer by experience. In answer; Maddie is 'technically' suppose to be a month along. A month and a half after this chapter. If you want to research the subject, go ahead. For all the others who are like me and don't really want to know; pretend will you? It's just a story...**

**I don't think anything else really needs saying here...**

* * *

M: _No! I deny that!_

E: _Caught with the empty cookie tray in your lap and you deny it?_

M: _Yes. It wasn't my fault. The dog ate them._

E:_ I swear Madeleine, how many times do I have to- Wait a second. We don't even have a dog. _Madeleine_..._

M: _You know, I think I'm going to take a major custody of this pen. I own it anyway... Let's write. Oh, and the dog thing. I- um... Let's write. I'll tell you later._

* * *

_Two and a Half Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Twenty-six;**

"**...I Brought You a Forget-me-not."**

"Have you forgotten anything?" Madeleine looked down at the little girl. She had a small bundle of her things that she'd tied into a handkerchief. She was wearing all the clothes she owned except her nightgown. Of course she hadn't forgotten anything.

"No." Madeleine watched as Lillia looked around her room. "I have it all."

Madeleine followed Lillia as she walked out of the room, and into the house's entranceway. The Van Gekks stood there with Wade beside them, ready to leave. Edward was leaning up against the counter, calm, but Madeleine could see the sadness in him. When Mrs. Van Gekk saw Madeleine, she led the little party outside.

* * *

Madeleine stayed next to Edward, closest to the house, and Wade and Lillia stayed next to the Van Gekks. There was an uncomfortable moment, and then Mrs. Van Gekk made stepped forward and gave Madeleine a hug. "Thank you my dear. Do- are you sure that you won't reconsider?"

Madeleine could see Lillia behind Mrs. Van Gekk, unaware of what she had asked. Little Lillia who had welcomed Madeleine by asking her to tell a story. Madeleine suddenly realized she almost thought to Lillia as her own daughter. A hand slipped free from Mrs. Van Gekk's embrace and slid to Madeleine's belly. The bump had grown quite a bit larger over the past two weeks. "No." Madeleine whispered back. "I- It's not that I don't want to, but..."

"I understand." As the custom of the Dutch, Mrs. Van Gekk gave Madeleine a kiss on the cheek. "Lillia told me too." She squeezed Madeleine's free hand tight. "Surprise Edward good for me."

Madeleine nodded as Mrs. Van Gekk stepped back. Then Lillia threw herself into Madeleine's arms with reckless abandon, forgetting for the moment, that Madeleine was with-child. "I'll never forget you." She whispered solemnly, blinking back tears. "Not ever." There was a momentary pause. "Oh, and I brought you a forget-me-not." Lillia let go of Madeleine and held up a pretty pale blue flower. "I know it'll wilt, but maybe you can dry it somehow, and then you can really forget-me-not. I found it in back of the house. They're winter flowers*."

"Thank you." Madeleine took the flower with care. The stem had obviously been held so fiercely that it was half broken. There was still a chance though, that the flower could still be dried prettily. Madeleine would of taken it if there was no hope for the flower at all. "Thank you Lillia. I appreciate it. Very much."

Lillia hugged her again, then stepped back and turned away so Madeleine wouldn't see the tears.

"Now look here," Mrs. Van Gekk took charge again as Mr. Van Gekk loaded Lillia and Wade into the rowboat. "You have the small boat don't you. It's old and probably won't carry you that far, but it'll get you out of range of the water. You can just tell someone to take it back to the Van Gekks. You can stay here for as long as you need to." Madeleine opened her mouth to say something, but Mrs. Van Gekk thrust her words into it. "And don't you start trying to clean up either. Hans and I, we don't care about how the house looks. The tidy house is the sign of a mis-spent* life anyway." She laughed and climbed into the boat after the Mr. Van Gekk.

In Madeleine's opinion, the goodbyes were over too quickly, and yet, there wasn't enough said. The four of them just seemed to be in the boat before she knew it, rowing away. And then, in surprise, she watched as Lillia's eyes widened, and then she jumped out of the boat, splashing back through the shallow water to land -getting her dress wet.

She ran straight up to Madeleine and looked into her eyes. "You promised." She whispered. "You said that you'd name the baby after one of us. Please. You will do it, and I can trust that. Right?"

"Of course." Madeleine reached out and brushed back one of the blond curls from the little stern face. "Lillia I will. I promise, on- on- on that little forget-me-not flower that you gave me. This baby's going to be named after you, or Wade."

Lillia threw her arms around Madeleine again, burying her head in the white apron. "I love you." She whispered. "M-" There was a pause, "Mother. I'll never forget you. I promise."

"Lillia!" Madeleine turned to see Mr. Van Gekk waving to grab Lillia's attention. And then there were a few more Dutch words Madeleine couldn't understand.

"Go on." Letting Lillia go, Madeleine gave her a gentle push. "Don't worry."

For a moment, Lillia looked at Madeleine with a heart-felt expression, then turned and splashed back to the boat. Madeleine noticed she didn't look at Wade, or anyone else, and she didn't look back. Madeleine guessed it was because of the tears.

* * *

E: _I still think we should of adopted both of them. And I swear Madeleine... Even Mrs. Gekk was in on it. My God..._

M: _You should of been more attentive._

E: _You say that all the time. I am attentive! You just don't think I am. Here. Ask me what we had for dinner a week ago on Monday night. Go on. Don't act like the ice froze your tongue. Go on. Ask._

M: _Fine. What did we have?_

E: _No, no, no. You have to be more specific. Ask me; What did we have for dinner a week ago?_

_M: Fine. What did we have for dinner a week ago?_

E: _Potato salad, ribs, rice, a normal salad that sucked because it was made with spinach. A plate of brownies, and half a plate of cookies. You had Coke, I had Coke, and the kids had milk. There. Attentive enough for you?_

M:_ I love how you paid enough attention to the desert to remember that there was a plate and a half of combined cookies and brownies._

E: _So? What difference does that make?_

M: _Lots. Let's write._

* * *

In one way, five minutes was the longest time of Madeleine's life, and yet again, it was the shortest time in the world. Neither Edward, nor Madeleine ever thought of turning to go inside while the Gekks were sailing away. They stood and watched the little boat row out of sight.

Once Madeleine's eyes started to ache, she realized that the boat could barely be seen on the horizon. If they kept staring at a little dot, they'd probably both be visually-impaired by nightfall. Turning around, she started for the house. "Maddie, wait."

Madeleine paused and felt Edward's hand wrap around her waist. But it pulled her back, making her stop walking. "What?"

Looking into Edward's eyes, Madeleine found that they were confused. _Well, not exactly confused... Maybe... curious, interested, puzzled?_ "Why did Lillia come back?"

"Oh, that." _He can't find out now!_ Madeleine tried to hide her hasty blush. Even though she did want Edward to find out about the baby, to surprise him seemed better. Besides, Mrs. Van Gekk had wanted him surprised. To be surprised just appeared... appropriate. "To say goodbye."

"No." Edward seemed mildly uncomfortable, as if he was steering the conversation in a direction that he didn't want it to go. "You said something about names... And promises."

"So?" Madeleine tugged out of his grasp and headed towards the house. Maybe if she could fake her way into doing something that she 'needed' to do...

Edward caught her hand before she could reach the steps up to the cottage door. "You're hiding something." He whispered.

Madeleine's brain whirled. Hundreds after hundreds of cheesy excuses popped into her head. _Tie my boot... clean out the oven... try and learn that spinning wheely thingy in the Living Room... work on the vial... die my hair brown... make a Spanish breakfast... _"Am I?"

"Chop it Maddie," Edward whispered back. "You sound like I did when I was giving you the locket." Folding his arms in front of his chest, he shot Madeleine a dead-pan look. "I'm here, so I might as well know." He attempted to mimic Madeleine's voice in an impossibly high tone.

"Who says I have anything to hide?" Madeleine crossed her own arms and glared at him.

"I do."

"Maybe you happen to be wrong."

"Is Edward Cahill ever wrong?"

Madeleine gave him a dead-pan look. "Yes. Many times. I couldn't stop going on how many times you were wrong -are wrong. Sorry about that."

Edward took a deep breath. "You and Lillia were talking about a baby."

There was utter silence.

Almost as if to fill in the space that it's parents had left, the baby twisted around. Madeleine's hands flew down to her belly. It had been a light kick, maybe just a movement, but she was sure she'd felt it. _Our baby. Our little... I want a girl._

"Is that what you're hiding?" Madeleine had entirely forgotten about Edward. She looked up into his blue eyes, startled. Her hands dropped. "Is that what you're hiding? You're with-child. Aren't you."

Madeleine's head dropped, and she nodded slowly. "It was suppose to be a surprise. You spoiled it."

Edward slid a finger under Madeleine's chin and brought it up to look him in the eyes. They were... _Laughing._ So he wasn't mad that she had hid it after all. Madeleine almost breathed a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you tell me?" An impish twinkle started dancing in the blue irises. "It's not like I shouldn't of known."

Madeleine rolled her eyes, hand creeping back down to her belly. "I told you. It was suppose to be a surprise when you found out."

Edward groaned. "Here we go again. You and your surprises..."

"So says the person who can't even walk in the door without scaring _someone_!"

"That's not true!"

"Hmm..." Madeleine's green eyes twinkled up at him, laughing.

"It's funny when you jump."

"Ha! Proof you're guilty!" Madeleine laughed and turned away, racing up the stairs and into the cottage. Edward ran after her, slipping inside the door just before it closed and following Madeleine to the room that adjoined their bedroom. He hadn't really payed much attention to the room before, but looking around, he saw that Madeleine obviously had. It had a long wooden table pushed under the window, with patterns of light dancing off it because of the sun, shining outside, that reflected off of the dozens of glass tubes and flasks. He noticed that one of the tubes was full of a purplish-pink liquid. It was... interesting. And it almost seemed to draw him closer, urging him to pick it up and try it. To do... something. Edward looked around for Madeleine.

She was leaning up against the right wall of the room next to the table, panting. It was enough to tire her just to run a couple of yards. And the baby couldn't even be a few months old yet. _The baby._ And a smile twitched unconsciously over Edward's mouth. _Me- a Father._ Madeleine's eyes twinkled impishly though, not knowing what thoughts were running through Edward's head. Laughing at the same time, she stuck her tongue out at him and pushed herself up. "I finished it."

"Finished what?" Edward followed Madeleine up to the table and they stood before the vital with the liquid.

"The serum." Madeleine reached out her right hand and fingered the vial* with one finger. Edward noticed that she was frowning slightly, her eyebrows pulling together. "The one my Father made -that split apart our family. The one that's suppose to make one person the most powerful person in the world."

"What does it do?" Edward's curiosity was sparked.

But Madeleine only shrugged. "I don't know. I tried a little, but nothing happened. So... I'm left wondering."

"You _tried_ some?" Edward looked her in the eyes. "Do you feel alright? Dizzy? Like you want to vomit?"

"Edward I'm fine." Madeleine turned away, got on her knees, and looked under the table, at the table's leg. She messed with it upside down. "I said nothing happened. Besides, I tried it almost a week ago. I think if I was going to die, I would of died before this."

Edward glanced at the vial next to him. The sunlight was shining through it, almost casting a purple reflection on the wood floor. It drew him in, curiosity swelling. He almost couldn't help what he did next.

* * *

M: _I just remembered this. You drove me crazy in 1500 as well as you do in 2010._

E: _I'm so sorry..._

M: _I MIGHT believe you if you sounded like you were actually sorry._

E:_ I am _really_, sorry Madeleine._

M: _You do know that we're teasing each other right?_

E:_ I do._

M: _And that people are going to read this?_

E: _Yup._

M: _And that you actually sound kind of annoying?_

E: _No! I didn't know that! Oh God Madeleine... If anyone's the annoying one-_

M: _WHOA! Fiske called ME! Sorry Ed. Got to go. If Fiske is calling me, and not you, then that's got to be important!_

E: _Please... please... please... I just hope she doesn't go overboard talking with him. I need to go meet Tom tonight... We were going bowling... Please Madeleine, please... please... please... Wait. I just sound plain stupid here don't I. Ugh... MADELEINE ELIZABETH GET OFF THE PHONE WITH KATHERINE, NO MATTER WHAT YOU'RE CONSPIRING UP TOGETHER! KATHERINE IS NOT FISKE! So much for bowling tonight... Maybe Tom will come late..._

* * *

**On the downside of everybody's guesses, Maddie and Edward never adopt Lillia and Wade. Sorry. I could of had them do that, but it would have been too confusing with five kids. *spoiler!* Especially if two of them were adopted and had almost no relation to Madeleine whatsoever. Why I say 'slim' is because the relation would be through Edward, and he is not a relation to either of the children. Unless they're his second cousins twice removed...**

**So smash your hopes now. Lillia and Wade are **_**not **_**going to get adopted. Sorry, but it's the truth... Comfort yourself with the fact Lillia thinks of Madeleine as her Mother and vice versa...**

*** If anybody is actually expecting me to know if Forget-me-nots are winter flowers that grow in the Netherlands, they are sadly mistaken.**

*** Okay, so I saw this quote in a book and I absolutely LOVED it. I clean, but I never **_**clean **_**unless there's a definite reason for me to clean. I whole-heartedly agree that; A tidy house **_**is**_** the sign of a mispent life! Who else is with me? (Put your hands in the air...)**

*** I am working on the vial/vital thing just as I was working on the Katherine/Katharine thing. It's taking time, but when I edit all of it out, I'll try and make the entire thing clean. Impossible. I know, but ahh... Everybody can dream can't they?**

**Question; So, is the baby going to be a boy or a girl? What should he/she be named? (I want to see your guesses...) What does Edward do with the vial?**

**Now, this is another question that's a lot more important. It's been itching at my mind ever since... the 20th chapter. I want to know if I should stop with the italic parts. I'm completely serious right now. The reason I want to stop them, is because they take up my time, and truly don't add anything to the story. If they did, I wouldn't even think about it. But they don't. Now the upside of them, and the entire reason I put them in there, is because I believe it brings out a different dimention to the story. It's not me writing it anymore, it's Madeleine, Edward and Luke. It's **_**their **_**adventures. And that's what I want you to believe and think. The only one I probably won't cut out is the first one, in the Prologue, and in the first chapter. All others will go.**

**No matter how funny the italic parts are, sometimes, there are things you just have to cut out. I won't cut them out all the way, I'll save them on my computer. But if they need to go, they need to go. This will be a poll from this chapter, to the 30th. Vote in your reviews. The fate of the italic parts relies entirely on your shoulders. I will do whatever the majority is. Even if it's off by one vote. No person will be able to vote two times.**

**I WILL KEEP TRACK! *insert scary music here***


	30. The Vital Results

**I don't really have much to say, but I do have one, very important thing. Remember in the... Fourteenth chapter? When I said Dani died? Well, I'm changing that. He did not die, he got captured by Katherine. There is a specific difference, although there still is the chance I'll have him die. Sorry, but that's life. Don't go back looking through the chapter because I haven't changed it yet, I'm just saying all of this because I know nobody's going to randomly go back and read Chapter Fourteen again.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

M: _For the last time; I'M SORRY! Will you shut up now?_

E: _No._

M: _You're annoying me. Seriously._

E: _Well that's a complete pity._

M: _You're _really _annoying me._

E: _Okay, so I think that's a nice averager for the fact you ate every single one of my Twizzlers._

M: _DID NOT!_

E: _Yeah, so Wade and Will were also in on it. Sure, sure. You. Ate. Them._

M: _Why don't you just write? That's what we're suppose to be doing!_

E: _Twizzlers, scamizzlers..._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-seven;**

**The Vital Results***

Madeleine straightened up, her eyes flickering across the table. In the back of her mind, she started counting the tubes. She didn't trust Edward for a minute when it came to mischief. She was pretty sure that he didn't trust her either in that category. But then, they still loved each other. _Doesn't make a difference. Five... Six... Seven..._ Madeleine's eyes flickered across the vital that had been holding the serum. _Eight... EMPTY?_

Instantly, Madeleine whirled on Edward. He was standing in the exact place he had been standing when she'd turned her back. Turned her back, for _three seconds._ "What happened to it?" She demanded.

"Happened to what?" Edward blinked.

"Don't play stupid." Madeleine snapped. She could feel an ugly temper rising in her. She tried to push it down, but it was a pot of molten lava boiling close to the surface. Edward was going to get burned if he didn't spit out the answer. "You know what I'm talking about! What happened to the serum?"

Edward turned to the empty glass vial, and then sheepishly back to Madeleine. "I-"

She read his face before he could form the right reply. "You DRANK it? Edward Cahill you DRANK it? And you're complaining about _me_ being irresponsible! HOW IN THE NAME OF GIDEON AND OLIVIA CAHILL CAN YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT _ME_ BEING IRRESPONSIBLE WHEN YOU DO A HELLISHLY STUPID THING LIKE THAT?"

"Well I was going to say-"

"WHAT?" Madeleine threw her arms up in the air, glaring at Edward. "That it taste good since it had honey in it?"

Edward was getting tired of her screaming, although it _was_ rather an interesting change. Interesting enough to make him tired of it. "If you'll listen to me, I was going to say that maybe it doesn't do anything. I mean, if you think about it, if it doesn't do anything to you or me, then on average, maybe it doesn't do anything at all."

"No, I'm not going to-" Madeleine stopped in her tracks, frozen right as she stuck her finger at Edward's face. She blinked. "What did you say?"

"On average, if it doesn't do anything to you, or me, then maybe on average, it doesn't do anything at all."

Madeleine's hand dropped to her side and she stared up at Edward. Her face had grown frightfully pale. "What's fifteen percent of an hour?" She whispered.

Edward blinked. "Nine minutes." Madeleine took a step back, away from him. "But that's right, right? I mean, sixty multiplied by fifteen and you move the decimal over two places. That's nine."

"It's right." Madeleine replied bitterly. She didn't look at him. She turned away and looked out the window. "It's too right."

"So..."

Madeleine spun around on her heel. "What's a musket made of?" She shot to him.

"Uh... Steel."

"And what do you call a art object that uses mortar and little colored pieces of tile?"

"A mosaic. Why are you asking me these?"

"That's what the serum does." Madeleine snapped. "You're like me now."

"_What?_"

"I have all the talents." Madeleine whispered. "That's what the serum gives you. The power to have all those. In the wrong hands, the world could be destroyed. It's a gift, and a curse. That's what the stupid thing does." Madeleine swore softly under her breath.

"It's not a bad thing." Edward looked down at the ground, finally realizing what she meant. "You know I'm not going to try and take over the world."

"_You're _not." Madeleine turned back around to look at him. She was leaning against the table. Edward saw a look of pain in her eyes that he hadn't seen since Paris. "_You're_ not. I know you. I know you won't. But Luke has that list. He stole it from me. I just have it memorized. And if he gathers all the ingredients. He creates the serum -or any of the others for that matter. They want everything too much. Think of the wars. The pain. The suffering that people like Michelle would have to go through just because one person took the serum and had everything. Crafty like Luke, smart like Katherine, artistic like Jane, strong like Tom. We can't let them have that."

Edward winced slightly. "I think we got off topic. What does this have to do with me?"

"-You're not the same." Madeleine's hands slid to her belly, feeling the baby. "Not with everything. You've never been able to answer a math problem correctly in your life. You never would of known what a mosaic is if you were being tortured. I loved the Edward that you were."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Edward held up his hands. "Slow down. I'm still the same Edward. Just because I drank a stupid something that gives you the power to rule the world, doesn't mean that I've changed. If you want me to answer math problems wrong, I can do that. I'll know I'm answering them wrong. But still."

"It's not the same." Madeleine whispered.

"So... What _do_ you want me to do? Since I'm dumb enough to ask."

"It's too late now." Madeleine snorted, turning to look back out the window. "It's not like I could find something to erase it."

Edward didn't really know what to say. Madeleine had turned on her defense, and that was almost impossible to break through. "So are you going to leave?" He whispered. "Just because of... what the serum did? Does it make that much difference?"

Madeleine hung her head. Edward gave a quick sigh of relief. She wasn't going to go on the war-path. "No... But I'll bet it's going to take some... some getting use to."

Edward wrapped his arms around her waist. "At least we know that we're not going to die." There was a little giggle at Edward's pun, and a few more as he started tickling her.

"Ed-Edward stop!"

"Why?"

"It- It tickles! Stop! Edward- Edward stop! The baby!" Edward stopped and Madeleine grinned impishly up at him. "_Now_ I know what to say."

"Beginner's luck." Edward kissed her, grinning, and kept his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

* * *

M:_ I still cannot believe you did that. It was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..._

E: _Why did you put it in the middle of the table? Huh? Answer that._

M: _It's easier to work with there dummy._

E: _If you are so much as barely even thinking of such a sort of hint..._

M:_ Hey. Stop it. It's not that bad. But you drinking that was still dumb. Three seconds..._

* * *

**So... Twist. Another- twist. If you don't like it- flame me. But I kind of wanted it in here. I wanted Maddie and Ed to be on the same line, if you get what I mean. Both have all the talents... In this chapter, is probably where you need to crack down on my writing. If anything- ANYTHING sounds wrong, or just... off. Tell me about it. I don't care if you don't even know what the problem is! **_**Tell me.**_

*** In a sad state of affairs, I use to be very proud of myself for coming up with this title. I thought it was a hilariously funny combination of Vial/Vital. I was thinking of X-ing it out and putting in Vial, but that would have just sounded stupid. I probably should have come up with an entirely different title, but I'm too lazy. Besides, I just came up with two new story ideas. (THE HORROR!) And am trying to get them written down slightly before I forget.**

**The Poll is 0/4. Keeping the italics is sadly in the majority right now... Does anybody take into consideration that doing that takes time? Maybe, if I cut out the italics, I could update faster... Hm? Negotiations... Negotiations and Bribery actually... But I don't have 50,000 dollars to do that with...**

**Question; How did you like what Edward did? Do you think it makes sense? There are no mutant babies in the equation. Sorry there Sunshine... :)**


	31. Smoke Screen

**Another notice like the last one. Do you remember in the ninth chapter? I had Maddie light the flame with a (believe it or not...) match. I just changed that, and modified it. I haven't changed it yet with the story on the site, but it will get done. Sometime in the *near* future...**

**I think that's it. Enjoy! But in this chapter, you kinda have to read slow. It sounds better if you read it that way.**

* * *

M: _I can't wait!_

E: _What? About the haunted house? Seriously. Like buckets of ketchup are going to fool anyone. I'll have to tell Jane to bring fries..._

M: _Oh shut up. You're just jealous. I have the pits, the forest of ghost, the witch, and the puddles of blood. Oh, and the hall of spare parts._

E: _More like the hall of un-cooked food to me..._

M: _Shut up Ed. Write. Or that bowl of Hersheys and Crunches are going down the sink._

E_: Fine... Fine... Fine... Plain bribery..._

* * *

_Six Years Later;_

**Chapter Twenty-eight;**

**Smoke Screen**

"Mother, can I have a cookie?"

Madeleine felt a little hand tug on her skirt. She stopped kneading bread and turned to her little five and a half year old daughter. "Not now, dinner's almost ready. For your treat afterwards." The little girl nodded and turned away. "Here Lil, you can help me set the table. You can do that, can't you?"

The little girl turned back around and looked up at her Mother eagerly. "I can do it!"

Madeleine picked out four plates and a few spoons. "Spoons on the right." She reminded her daughter.

"I've got it!" The girl carried the heavy china plates valiantly to the table, and set them at their proper places. She arranged the spoons where they were suppose to go, and then turned back to her Mother.

"Drinks."

"Oh, right." The girl walked over to a bucket of water hanging near the door just as a wail started up from down a hallway.

Madeleine wiped her hands on her apron. "Finish that up while I go get your sister please."

The little girl nodded. "Don't worry."

_I'll always worry._ Madeleine thought wryly as she walked down the hall. _You're my daughter Lillia. Mother's always worry about their children. It's their job._ Walking into a room, she scooped a small, three year old from where she was sitting on her bed. The little girl wrapped her rather chubby arms around Madeleine neck and buried her head there.

"You didn't get half the sleep you needed to. Did you Grace?"

Grace nodded hastily. "I ready to play."

"Lillia's busy helping me. She won't have much time to play with you."

Grace's lower lip stuck out in a pout, but she didn't say anything. She knew her Mother would put her back to bed if she did anything out-of-line.

Madeleine set Grace gently on a blanket, spread over a corner of the living room floor. She gave her a small carved wooden bird and rattle. "Alright. Play there. Maybe Lillia can come over right before dinner." Getting back up, Madeleine walked over to the kitchen. Lillia had somehow, just 'magically' disappeared for some reason. Madeleine grabbed the cookie platter and started counting the cookies. Sure enough, three were missing.

* * *

"Lillia Elizabeth Cahill!" Grace looked up as Lillia hurried in the rooms from the hallway. Madeleine didn't miss the few cookie crumbs on Lillia's brown French-style dress. "What happened to the other three cookies that were on the platter?"

Lillia went around to the other side of the counter into the kitchen. Her Mother had crossed her arms and was staring sternly down. The little girl looked innocently up into her eyes. "A few flies landed on those cookies and they were tested to see if they were still good for everyone to eat."

Madeleine had to work hard to make her mouth not twitch. "Who was the tester?"

"Me." Lillia didn't crack a smile.

Madeleine thought for a moment, still trying not to laugh. Then laid down the punishment. "No desert for you tonight."

Lillia blinked, then put on a show of being injustly treated. "I was only testing them to see if I'd get sick. If I got sick then you couldn't eat them!"

"Lil," Madeleine turned around and started kneading the bread again. "You would most likely of gotten sick eating that many cookies in a row more that you would of gotten sick from a fly landing on the platter."

"But-"

"No buts. Put the butter and jam on the table and go play with your sister."

Lillia made a face as she turned around, but did as her Mother asked.

* * *

E: _Ha! Didn't crack a smile... Sure Madeleine. I believe that._

M: _Well, you sir, needed to talk to your daughter about snitching cookies before dinner. Lizzy did the same thing too... You need to talk to her..._

E: _It's just a cookie._

M: _It's just a sugar-packed, gluten-filled, protein-delinquent, pack of flour._

E: _Oh, write will you?_

* * *

_Two Hours Later;_

Madeleine placed the freshly sliced bread on the table just as Edward walked into the room. "Father!" Lillia jumped up from the blanket on the floor, and ran to him. In one quick move, Edward swung her up and tossed her in the air, almost letting her go so high as to bump her head on the ceiling.

There was a murmured warning for safety from Madeleine.

"Up!" Grace unsteadily got to her feet and took a few wobbly steps toward Edward. Madeleine bit her lip, watching her daughter sway back and forth, but Edward had no such quays. Setting Lillia down, he scooped up Grace and threw her in the air. She squealed.

"Dinner's ready." Madeleine interfered hastily before Edward might drop her. "Lillia, help your sister clean up."

Edward bounced Grace up and down gently a few more times, then handed her over to Lillia. Lillia walked down the hall. "So how did your day go?" He turned to Madeleine, eyes laughing. "Besides the fact of being an over-protective Mother that is."

Madeleine curled into his embrace. "Mmm... Your eldest daughter decided that she needed to test three cookies since a fly landed on them." There was a soft chuckle from Edward. "But otherwise, it went good. You?"

"Busy." Edward let go of her as Lillia and Grace walked back into the room. "How's Hope? Is she still asleep?"

Madeleine nodded, "She's a sleeper."

"Who a sleeper?" Lillia stared up at her parents.

"Nobody Lil. Come on, sit down- please." Ushering her two daughters to the table, Madeleine sat at the end opposite of Edward. Glancing around, she scanned the table and made sure that nothing had been overlooked. Nothing had, except... _What's that?_ A soft scent tickled the back of Madeleine's mind. She could remember smelling it, but this was different. Harder, more acidic. But what in the world could be acidic in her home?

And then memories can pouring back to her in clumps. _Running... The roof collapsing... Smoke everywhere... Ashes... Tears... Fear... Promises..._ But that was impossible. Madeleine looked across the table. "Edward, do you smell... smoke?"

Edward lifted his nose slightly and sniffed. It wiggled back and forth slightly, testing the air. _Almost like a rabbit. _Madeleine would of giggled if the thought hadn't been so frightening. "Yeah." He looked back over at her. "Like someone lit a bonfire."

Suddenly a scream ripped down the hall, horrifying the two adults that sat at the table.

_Hope._

Madeleine was running down the hall before the possessor of the scream could actually log into her mind. She flung open the door to the room she and Edward shared -only to get a face-full of ash and soot. "Hope!" Madeleine held her breath and plunged into the thick shroud of ash. Another scream answered her cry, and Madeleine scooped the six month old child out of her cradle and into her arms.

"Madeleine! Get out of there!" Edward's voice hit her ears like she was underwater. Madeleine could already tell that the smoke was starting to affect her. The room swirled around, defying every effort she made to find the exit. She could see flames beginning to lick in the corners, eating up the walls. The baby in her arms gave another desperate cry.

_Lost._

How could someone be lost in their own home? A place she had helped build with her own hands? In the very clearing that she had found, riding with Edward and had said; 'This is it'? How could someone be trapped there? How could someone die there? Was she going to die?

"Edward!"

Madeleine pressed towards the way the reply of sound seemed to come from. To her relief, she stumbled back out the doorway. _Blankets._ Hurriedly, Madeleine raced into Lillia's and Grace's rooms. She gathered up all the quilts she could find, and then hurried back into the hallway.

Smoke had conquered the whole house, billowing up from the back rooms, and pouring into the front. Madeleine could see flames beginning to reach the roof, spreading rapidly over the straw thatch. She heard her name, called once, twice, from almost a roaring lake of water. She stumbled toward it. Hope cried again.

And then she felt Edward's arms wrap around her. "Madeleine get out!"

She shook her head dumbly. "Take Hope." But she couldn't even hear the sounds her own mouth made. She quickly thrust the baby into Edward's arms and turned back. _Everything._

"Madeleine! It's not safe! Get back here! _Madeleine!_"

Pushing forward, Madeleine reached Lillia's and Grace's rooms once more. She grabbed a pair of clothes for each. Once she turned around though, the room for her and Edward was already engulfed in flames. A flame wall. Madeleine desperately tried to push away the thick smoke curtain to manage to get out of the house. But whatever she pushed away, didn't go. It slipped through her hands like water and replaced itself where it had been before.

The room spun around her. Madeleine could feel the floorboards beginning to give under the weight. The flames reaching for her from everywhere, laughing at her, poking fun, insulting. "Edward!" Madeleine couldn't get the word out. Her lungs choked on ash. Her throat burned. "Edward!" She couldn't die like this. Not like this. Not now. Not with the children. _Lillia, and Grace, and Hope. They need me._

Madeleine stumbled forward a few steps and suddenly ran into the long hard counter. It wasn't on fire. Not yet at least. Madeleine twisted to her left, one hand covering her mouth, the other clutching the blankets and clothes. "Edward! Ed- help." She swallowed to ease the pain in her throat. She coughed.

She could vaguely tell that the roof was beginning to fall in. Bits of straw fell around her, sometimes on her, landing on her skirt or shoulders. She brushed them off and pushed on. "Edward!" She doubled over, almost dropping the blankets with the barrage of coughing she met. "Edward!"

And then she felt someone scoop her up, carrying her. _Maybe... maybe I'm dead._ Her thoughts whirled around and around. She couldn't touch any of them, or consciously think of one. They were just there, staying out of her reach. Whoever was carrying her, gripped her tighter. Madeleine could feel some of the ash falling on them. There was a rumble, stating the threat of the house collapsing, and then the carrier started running.

It was only a few strides, but it seemed like forever. Time- a sitting duck. Madeleine coughed, and she felt the person's hands bring her up a little, tipping her head closer to him. She wrapped her hands around his neck, clinging to the only thing she knew. "Edward..." She felt her lips form the word. She wanted Edward. Wherever he was. Whatever had happened to him. _Where's Hope?_

There was a roar of flames as the roof collapsed.

* * *

E: _You know, I was thinking. We have all these action-filled endings where if we didn't have these stupid little things, people would be _DYING_ to find out what happens in the next chapter. We're probably going to lose readers if we keep it up._

M: _It's not that bad. Besides. I have it all planned out how it's going to go._

E: _This isn't fiction. You can't just fire up your imagination and say we did some stupid thing we didn't do._

M:_ Phhh... Who says it is? Who says we are saying we're saying stuff we didn't do?_

E: _The person who is creating a haunted house in her front yard that has the candy bowl under a pile of raw spaghetti. Who in their right minds does that?_

M: _Well I'm right handed._

E:_ Oh God... That trims me out too then. Geeze._

M: _Fine. Whatever. Stop moping. Do we have enough peeled grapes for the goo eyeballs or do we need more?_

E: _We have plenty. Tom's going to love this haunted house. I'll have him be the one standing outside dressed in that stupid Dracula costume. Me? I'm going to hide out in the car and turn on the radio to Sports KTAR..._

M: _EDWARD!_

E: _I hate Dracula..._

* * *

**Okay. So this is what I had in mind for the italic parts. My Mom's left handed. So she has this sign on the refrigerator door. 'If the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. If this is true, then the left handed people are the only ones in their right minds!' I'm right handed as well, so maybe I shouldn't be saying that... *purses lips in thinking...***

**Hilarious right?**

**1/6; Favor in the odds of keeping the italics. Actually, Alex gave me some AWESOME ideas. If people actually help me like that, I probably WILL keep the italic parts. Because- hell. 500th Wedding Anniversary, and Edward forgets it? Who WOULDN'T want to write something on that? *skips off the stage grinning annoyingly***

**Question;** **Who's going to die, waiting for the next chapter? Who thinks Madeleine was stupid for going back in the burning house when both her parents died doing that? How do you think Madeleine's haunted house will go? Will Edward be Dracula?**


	32. Flames

**I'm updating again for the fact that I might not be on for a week or two. I can't resist. So four quick words; YOU BETTER REVIEW THIS! Thanks.**

**Little Me; Thanks so much! I honestly don't mind a review that has text language in it as long as it's not; gr8! hrt u! And yours wasn't! I actually started laughing because it was so cute! Thanks so much for brightening my day!**

**Elfine; Okay, I'm sorry this is embarassing. (My gosh, I apologize for **_**everything**_**...) But may I remind you, this was written by a thirteen year old girl. I have no knowlege of babies, (Thank God...) And have no wish to do so at this age. All the things you mentioned there are true, but I pictured Maddie lying on the bed rather than crawling. I apologize if I gave you the wrong picture. And I also apologize for not wanting to read up about babies since I have no true wish to do so. It's . Geeze, give me a break! It's just a story! Pretend!**

**The fact of Madeleine having no computer in her time, I believe, was stated in later chapters. You'll have to get to the end of the entire story to fully understand it. But the italic parts were written when she was in 2010/2011 NOT when she was in the 1500's, so she **_**did **_**have a computer.**

**Sunshine; I'm replying to you here, because I thought it was hilariously funny that one person thought Luke had set the fire, and one person thought Luke carried her out of it. I'm not going to spill everything. Skip to the end of my Author's Note if you have that desperate need to find out who did it. But I'm going to remind you that Madeleine was only half-conscious at that point and really didn't know what was happening. She might have thought stars were fireflies then. At least, the way I'm thinking of it...**

**R, E, & R! (Read, Enjoy, and Review!)**

* * *

E: _Okay Mads, I'll admit. The Haunted House wasn't that bad. It _was_ fun to see all the three year old kids freak out when they found they had to stick their hand through a pile of 'cow innards' to get to the candy. I love how Wade stared at the thing for about five minutes and went and got that ziploc bag to put his hand inside so he didn't have to touch it. He's too much like you..._

M: _Ahh. You're jealous that my brilliancy strikes again?_

E: _What- what is with this brilliancy thing? You and Katie spent ten minutes together to come up with the Haunted House and suddenly. This 'brilliancy' word is popping up everywhere. 'Brilliancy' isn't even a word. Go look in the dictionary._

M: _Said and done. Jane told both of us that two weeks ago._

E: _Why is this my life..._

L:_ Voila! Maddie, that Haunted House was awesome. I loved The Haunted Candy Bars of Doom._

M: _I _loved_ those! That was so fun! Making the candy bar hook up to the lights so when the kid took it, all the lights went off and creepy laughter started? Hilarious! William took off screaming._

E: _You guys are so mean... Anyway, let's start writing. Luke, you've got your part again. You've actually got them to the end now. I think..._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-nine;**

**Flames**

_Ash... Falling... Pain... Breathe... Edward... Where's Edward?... Hope?..._ Madeleine couldn't think. Everything hurt. Not pain exactly, but more of an ache. _What- what happened?_ She tried to reach out, but it was like her fingers weren't there. They wouldn't move for her. _Edward... What's happening?_

Her mind began to work again as fresh air flooded her body. Feeling started to leak through her, even though her eyes were closed. She was lying on the ground, flat. Her fingers twitched. _Why am I here?_ And then she felt someone caress her cheek gently. Her eyes fluttered open. _Edward._

She tried to speak, but her throat was too dry, and it hurt too much. Even the simple movement of moving her lips was too much. She felt his hand touch her fingers, pick up her hand and hold it carefully. But she couldn't squeeze it in reply. She couldn't tell him she was fine. Only she couldn't hear him, couldn't speak, couldn't feel. But did that mean she was fine at all?

Madeleine closed her eyes again.

After a few minutes, life began to return to her body. She looked up at Edward. His blue eyes were frightened, scared for her. Almost desperate.

Desperation was something she understood.

"What happened?" She pushed the words out, even though it felt like she'd set her throat on fire. "Where's the children?"

The look of relief in Edward's eyes was too great to be described. "They're in the woods. Hope's safe. God Maddie," He breathed. "Why did you go back?"

"I-I don't know." Madeleine gave a few coughs. "I don't know. I can't remember. There was only ash. And everything was hot. And-"

"Calm down." Edward wrapped his hand behind her back and propped her up, so she was in a sitting position. "It all over. We're all safe."

_But-_ Madeleine turned her head to look at the house. Or what had been the house. There was only rubble now, an enormous pile of burning wood. Like a gigantic bonfire. Everything was gone. Nothing could of survived that. Just like nothing had survived Gideon and Olivia's house. Everything had been destroyed. Even the family with Gideon and Olivia. The most important thing- the family. _Is this what Mother felt like? Finished? Like the world was just going to end? Like her own world had been destroyed?_ Madeleine turned away from the sight.

"Did you go back in?" She whispered to Edward. He nodded slowly, not looking at her. "Why? You knew it was dangerous."

Then he looked down. "Do I need a reason to save the woman I love?"

Madeleine blushed and looked away. "Maybe, Hero." She felt Edward chuckle lightly and rest his head on the top of her curls. Then he struggled to his feet, helping her up at the same time.

"Come on. It's not going to do any good just sitting here." They walked slowly South to the edge of the clearing. As they got closer, Madeleine could make out two children sitting on a log in a smaller clearing adjoining the larger one. The older child was holding something in her arms with the younger watching both. _Lillia, Grace and Hope. Thank God they're safe._

Suddenly Madeleine felt Edward stop and let go of her. He turned around. "Edward!" Madeleine was afraid for a moment, although she didn't know why. "Where are you going?"

"Back, I forgot something."

"No." Madeleine shook her head fiercely. She could remember something in her mind. She could feel it there, very clear, but it had been buried because of years of pain. She hadn't wanted to remember it. She had wanted to forget. It was something like this had been. A long time ago. _Father... Fire... The house, burning... Mother running back... Gone._ "No. I'm not letting you go back."

A flicker of confusion entered Edward's eyes. "Maddie, look, I'm not even going inside the house."

"No." Madeleine caught his tunic sleeve. "No, you're not going back. I'm not losing someone. Not you, not again."

Edward rolled his eyes at her concerns. "I'm going to the cellar. Do you honestly think that I'm going to die by going to the cellar?"

"I'm not taking the chance."

"Remind me why I saved you..." Edward muttered. "For heaven's sake Madeleine, I won't even be a minute. You're worried for nothing." He reached up and tweaked Madeleine's nose.

"Not for nothing."

"Alright," He breathed out in exasperation. "Give me a minute Madeleine. Sixty seconds. If I'm not back by then, you can come and chew me out. But not before. How's that? Deal?"

Madeleine hesitated. He seemed so confident -just like Olivia had been. _Not the house though, the cellar. What's in the cellar?_ Edward patiently waited for her reply, and Madeleine finally nodded slightly.

A slow smile slid over Edward's face as he kissed her. "Don't worry Mads. I'll be careful." He turned away, and then suddenly turned back. "I love you Madeleine." He whispered.

He began walking away before Madeleine could tell him that she loved him too.

* * *

L: _I swear, you guys are too sappy._

M:_ Hm... I'm coughing right now._

L: _Wait a second, no you're not..._

E: _She's being sarcastic. She's also making fun of you in a out-of-the-way, way._

L: _I knew that..._

E:_ She's sitting next to you. Of course you did._

M: _Will you just write people?_

* * *

Madeleine watched Edward get farther and farther away from her. He went a few yards past the flaming house. The house was almost built into the small hill next to it, and Edward stopped just in front of a trapdoor, leading down into -the hill. The trapdoor went down five steps to the cellar, Madeleine knew. She had never really been down there. Only once, when it had just been finished. She had never really deemed it necessary except when she asked Edward to get her a few things. She never went down herself. But now, she would of gladly traded her place with Edward's, just to make sure that he was safe.

Bending down, Edward fiddled with the latch on the trapdoor, and started to open it. Madeleine looked around at the surrounding forest. Nothing seemed out of place, except... One branch seemed out of line, almost like it was... bent. It moved. Madeleine watched, horrified as a man on a horse rode out into the clearing. He was dressed in black, with red lining on his jacket. And he was riding straight towards Edward.

Madeleine screamed, helpless. Edward heard the hoofbeats and spun around, dropping the trapdoor. The man slid off his horse in mid-gallop and threw something at Edward. She could see a glint of metal that slammed into the hill behind the two men.

_He can't be here._ Madeleine thought desperately. _Not here, not now. Why not in the past six years? Why when we have children? Children that-_ She didn't want to think that last thought. Madeleine hated manipulation.

Edward twisted in the man-in-black's grasp, grappling with the tight hold. Madeleine could see something different in the two men's postures as they fought though. Edward wanted to get free, to -at most- injure his opponent so nobody else would get harmed. But the man-in-black was different. Madeleine could see with each jab, and every kick, that he wasn't fighting just because he wanted to get back at Edward for a -perhaps- lousy poker play, or due loan. He was ruthless.

He wanted blood.

Madeleine's heart pounded as the seconds ticked by. She could tell Edward was slowly adjusting to his opponent's fighting habits. His movements became more smooth. She could almost feel her own muscles twitching, anticipating each move, punch, and thrust. Suddenly she saw a twitch on the man's right side, a movement that didn't fit into the dangerous dance he was fighting with Edward. Madeleine's mind twitched. She remembered it, somewhere. She searched her mind. Her brain was still cleaning up all the ash, so there was a thick film of dust left, but she tried to remember. And then it hit her. _The jaw._

The move had already been made a split second before she screamed. She saw the man-in-black's wrist push forward, and Edward's head, snap back. She was already running while Edward fell, slamming against the cellar door, but the distance was too great. The man-in-black thrust his foot against Edward's stomach, grinding it in till there was a yell of pain. Then he lifted his boot and slammed it against Edward's arm. Madeleine heard the ugly snap from where she was a few yards away.

She willed her legs to run faster, to do anything, just to get to Edward in time. _Please... Five yards... Four yards... Three yards... Two... One. Slam._ She wasn't thinking about the impact when she hit, she was just thinking about what next. Her brain was flying so far ahead of her that she couldn't focus on the present, just the future. She saw two options. One was good, and one was bad. She couldn't let the bad one happen.

"Let him go!" She grabbed the man-in-black's shoulders and shook him as hard as she could. "Let him go!"

She could of been a fly for all the attention the man paid to her. He brushed her off like a gnat and got back to his feet. Madeleine didn't look at his face, she didn't want to see who it was, to prove it was who she thought it was. Madeleine pounded her fists on his chest for a few more moments, then turned to Edward.

In the corner of her eye, Madeleine saw the flames from the house, had leaped easily to the grass and were quickly spreading towards her and Edward. Instantly, Madeleine reached down and grabbed Edward's arm to pull him up. He winced. _Bad arm._ Madeleine reached for the other one. _Too close._ The flames had caught onto the wood of the cellar door. With unhurried speed, they spread out around Edward, framing him. There was no chance that Madeleine could roll him off, and with his stomach and arm...

Madeleine looked at Edward desperately for help. She might of had the ideas, but he had always had the plans. Edward always knew what to do. But instead of meeting instructions, she met a sort of hopeless gaze. Her eyes widened. That was impossible. That was- unthinkable, unbelievable, insane, absurd. She shook her head. "I'm not doing that." She breathed. But the answer was there in front of her. And it was the only option. "Edward-" Madeleine's voice broke as the sobs started to rise. "I can't."

The flames started on their path inward. Edward tried to shift a bit away from them, but he grimaced in pain and stayed where he was. He looked up at her for a moment, then held out his uninjured hand. Madeleine took it. It was almost like she could see what he was thinking. _There comes a time in life, that you have to let things go._

She shook her head. The clotted up tears wouldn't let her speak. _Not you._ She shook her head again. _I can't give up you. Not like my Mother and Father. I-_

_Look at me._ The flames flickered dangerously close to Edward's tunic. _To give, is not to let go. I love you Madeleine._ The piercing look changed to one of pure, untouched adoration. _Don't you ever doubt that for a moment. _Edward dropped his hand back down, but he still met Madeleine's gaze, unflinchingly.

And the cloth caught.

Madeleine turned away. She couldn't watch. It would be like watching the roof collapse over her parents all over again. _Like giving him up, to- to- to-_ Madeleine couldn't find something worse enough to compare it to. Fire had stolen everything she loved in one way or another. It was too much. Madeleine slowly dropped to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and cried.

* * *

She truly cried. There wasn't even pain now, it was just- empty. She was crying for the empty space inside of her where Edward had been. He had occupied the spot in her heart ever since she'd met him. Even when he wasn't there. But that 'gone' hadn't been like this 'gone'. He was... Gone. She was never going to see him again. Never hear his laugh. Never worry at him swinging the children above his head. Never feel his gentle arms wrap around her waist. All that- _Gone._

Madeleine didn't know when she stopped crying. All she knew, was that dusk had started to settle in. The dark fitted her mood. _Everything's dark when-_ Madeleine didn't finish the sentence. She looked up slowly. The small grass fire had died, smothered by the damp forest leaves surrounding the clearing. She couldn't tell what had happened to the man-in-black. He was gone as far as she knew. The body was still there.

For a moment, Madeleine was nauseated beyond belief. Tears rushed into her eyes. But she held them both back -for a moment. The nausea went away, but two solemn little tears forced their way out of her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Two. Even her tears had a partner to drop down to the dusty ground with. _Why- why-_ Madeleine tried to find a question that she wanted to answer that wouldn't make her cry. _What's in that cellar?_

* * *

E: _Complete utter silence everywhere..._

M: _Zip it dude. You're technically suppose to be dead_... _Luke... Your turn._

* * *

The man-in-black watched the scene playing out before him carefully. It was rather strange -he thought- that The Murderer was crying over a someone who didn't have any worth whatsoever. But she had- no, could of had- the worth of being the queen of Spain. It was such a pity that such talent was wasted. Such promise.

A slow smile slid over his face. But once he was done, nothing would of been wasted. No promise, no talent. He would rule the world. Suddenly a flicker of something else passed over the face. And then he would prove his brother wrong.

"Are we done here Father?"

The man-in-black didn't have to turn around. He thought for a moment, pondering the options. The Murderer couldn't be that large of a threat. He could easily over-power her if it came to a fight. "Go back to the town. Wait for me there."

"Yes Father."

The man-in-black heard the gallop of hooves as his son rode away. He turned his attention once more to The Murderer. He watched her struggle to her feet. It seemed like she paused, thinking, and then she grappled with the weight of the charred body. The man-in-black viewed carefully as she opened the cellar door, and then went inside, dragging the body in after her. He wondered if he should try and set fire to the cellar door again. But he figured that the already burned wood wouldn't catch that well.

His eyes narrowed. _You know you can't let her escape again._ This was the third time. But the third, and last. He would be the most powerful person in the world. And then- only then, would he finally over-power her for good. And she would die _slow._ Another smile twitched over his mouth. _Torture._ He couldn't decide whether slow boiling in oil, or thousands of pins sticking into her at one time would be better. Maybe both.

_What a pity that time isn't now._ The man-in-black sighed and settled down on his horse. He had to wait for so many impossibly slow things.

* * *

M:_ Alright buddy. I'm going to 'impossibly slow things' you! Slow boiling in oil?_

L: _Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, lady. Calm down. You need- let me think... You need tea. Or whatever Jane says helps calm your nerves..._

M: _TEA? That's it!_

E: _Pardon people, but I'm guessing I have to sign off here now because Madeleine's using... language that... Oh great. How do I put this? Language that ought not be printed. There. Said now. WILL YOU TWO PEOPLE SHUT UP? My God, poor Luke's going to have his ear drums broken at this rate... I have to go rescue them both now..._

* * *

**So. Edward's dead. Is anybody crying now? *rubs hands together anxiously...* This is suppose to be the sob-part of the story where I tried in vain to make the readers cry. Or at least, **_**want**_** to cry. I'm pretty sure I flopped over-board and died on my attempt right now, but- hey. A girl can try...**

**Question; Do you want to cry? If so, I want to know! (I act like crying is a good thing...) How many of you hate Luke to pieces right now? (Raise your hands...) What would you give to have Edward alive again? What do you think Luke is plotting?**


	33. Many Flames Can Not Burn Love

**I agree since nobody really wanted to cry. If we didn't have these cheesy italic parts in here, I bet just about everybody would have cried, or wanted to cry.**

**I have a new announcement to make. Alex is now officially my idea-thinker-up-er for the italic parts. The italics for this chapter are the sole idea of her making. (Thank you soooooo much! You saved me from a total brain-fry there...)**

**Little Me; Don't worry! Besides, you used capital letters! I've almost never seen anyone do that when they were texting... Good for you! *standing ovations***

**Mayflower; Thaat's fine. I really didn't expect anyone to. I just hoped... XD**

**Edward- now I think about it- really isn't, a main char. (Sorry Ed. Calm down there.) He's a supporter of Madeleine, who is the main character. And I'm not going to spill whether he comes back or not, that is the cliffie...**

**A note to Miranda; Unfortunately, the other three are to remain rather absolute in the background. If you read the notation in Luke's diary, he did mention Jane, Katherine and Tom. Just because they aren't in the main story plot, (Oh, shut up all of you!) doesn't mean that they've disappeared off the face of the earth. They have to remain... How do I put this? _Safely anonomous!_**

**I had fun saying that! Okay, R, R, & E!**

_

* * *

_

E: _I can not believe this..._

M: _Oh, hush. Order take out. I can't be there to make dinner for you _all _the time you know._

L: _Jane's slumber party? Geeze Mads, I'd stay as far away from there as possible. I saw her at 'Perfectly Pampered' when I was driving by, and she was buying- Dare I say it? ... _Pink nail polish.

E: _Yeah Mads. See? You can hide in the cellar if you like. There's plenty of storage boxes down there._

L: _I'll seal it!_

M: _I_ totally _agree with both of you, but- Jane offered..._

L: _I see a bribe coming on..._

M: _DON'T CALL IT THAT! My God! If I go, I get to do _half _of that canval oil painting she's doing! I CAN'T WAIT!_

E: _You're rubbing your hands together. This isn't good..._

M: _No! No, no, no, no! Come on! You have to let me go! I can't wait to just- dip my hands into some cheap, cheesy finger paints-_

L: Madeleine...

E: _Let's write before she gets any more ideas..._

* * *

**Chapter Thirty;**

**Many Flames Can Not Burn Love**

Madeleine waited on the bottom step while her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She knew from the previous experiences, that although the cellar floor was dirt, the walls and ceiling were made of wood, and tree beams. As she stepped down to the floor, she almost expected her feet to sink into a pile of potatoes, or something like that. But nothing happened. She stepped down onto dirt. She took another step, and another. Nothing happened.

_Weird._ Madeleine walked to the far wall and propped the charred figure in her arms up against it. The figure was blackened to almost un-recognition, but Madeleine could tell where everything had been. Tears started to seep back into her eyes, but she pushed them away. Now wasn't the time. She needed to be strong. _But what for? So the person who killed Edward can kill me too? _The question was almost too much to ask herself. A tear swelled in one eye. _No. For- for- for Lillia. For Grace. And for little Hope._ Little Hope, who would never know what her Father was like. _For Hope._

Madeleine sniffled as she pushed herself up, then turned to her left, ready to walk out again. She took a few steps forward, and then her waist slammed into something hard. Madeleine groaned as her fingers reached out to explore what she'd hit. _Curse stupid tables._ She slammed her fist on the table as revenge, but almost jumped in surprise when there was a rattle of glass that followed.

Waiting for her eyes to adjust a bit more, Madeleine felt along the table. On the spot, near the middle of the room, she could make out a vial. It held a pure, light blue liquid in it that glowed with an eerie perfection. Madeleine reached out and touched the cork block. But why was this here? What was it? What did it do? Why was all this here?

For the first time, Madeleine really looked at the table. There were dozens of breakers and flasks; vitals, and jars. It was a laboratory. _For- for making whatever this does._ Madeleine looked at the table for a bit longer and then turned to the opposite direction. There was a flight of stairs leading up. She frowned. _I didn't know there was another exit._ She glanced once more at the table behind her. _I don't know a lot of things._

Walking to the other side of the room, Madeleine stopped at the first step. There was a note on the right hand, dirt wall. Someone had stuck the paper into the packed soil, holding it up with a small stick- whittled to a point. Madeleine crimped her eyes. It was hard to see what was written on it in the dim light.

_Make sure that the hole in the pasture fence is fixed.*_

Madeleine frowned. Edward had told her about that, but almost two weeks ago. Peering at the note closer, she saw a small check mark at the end of the sentence. _Um... Done?_ Her eyes left that note and flickered to the one above it.

_Finish the stonework for the barn._

_Why are there lines with the check marks?_ Madeleine reached up and ran her finger over the note as if that would help explain the puzzling meaning. _Line for... Not done? But he said that he finished the stone work, and he was going to start putting up the frame. So... _Madeleine thought for a few more moments. _The check marks mean he worked on it, but he didn't finish it? And then the one check mark at the end... He finished it._ That seemed to be the case, so Madeleine went up the next step and looked at the notes there.

_Barter for new plow horse. No higher than ten Francs._

_No higher than ten Francs._ Madeleine groaned to herself. _That's just like Edward._ She blinked. She didn't know this was where Edward had been! She was just in the cellar. Here... trying to figure out why there was a mysterious lab, and notes stuck over the wall next to the stairs... She decided not to think on it.

_What were the X's for?_ Madeleine thought a bit. _If the lines and checks are that he worked on it, but didn't finish, the lines then X's have to mean he didn't do it, but still had to._ There. Problem solved. She stepped up two more stairs.

_Butcher pigs._

Madeleine instinctively winced. She hated doing that. It seemed so ruthless. The pigs trusted her- her and Edward. And then they turned on them, and killed them. But it was necessary. They had to have food to eat through the winter.

_Add another room to the house._

_Before little Hope was born._ Madeleine smiled at the pleasant memory. _Gone._ The bitter thought ripped the memory away and left her standing vulnerable in it's wake. Madeleine swallowed hard and went up two more steps. She realized that there was only one more step to the stop of the stairs.

_Make a toy for little Grace._

_Little Grace._ Madeleine smiled. It must of been at least four years back. Just after they had found the farm. The notes were getting later as she went up. She moved to the last step.

_Tell Lillia a bedtime story._

_ ^and Grace/ and Hope_

The entire page was covered in check marks. Madeleine flipped the note up, and she wasn't that surprised to see another note under it, also covered in check marks. She flipped that up, and found that there were another three notes under that. All covered in check marks. She wanted to cry. Madeleine looked at the last note. Or the first one, considering how you thought of it.

_Tell Madeleine Cahill that I love her. -_

There were no check marks, no X's, but only one little dash. Madeleine frowned. _What if Edward forgot about this one?_ But- that couldn't be right. Apparently he had come up all the steps to mark off Lillia and Grace's story note. Then... what had happened. Did he- not love her?

_No. Impossible._ Madeleine fingered the note gently. _He told me every night in one way or another. _But that was it. Madeleine stared at the note, eyes widening. Edward was never going to be done telling her that he loved her. You couldn't measure that by days, or missed days. She remembered the last thing he had said in his own words. _"I love you."_

For some reason, Madeleine knew he was there, watching over her. There was no way he would just- leave. Not with how he had done this. Madeleine brushed away a tear, which was fighting valiantly to trickle down the base of her nose. _There was a pen and an inkwell down on the table..._ She started back down the steps, grabbed the quill pen and inkwell, and hurried back up the stairs. She sat down on the top step, pen in hand, suddenly wondering what to write.

She thought, then dipped her pen in the ink, and placed it on the paper below what Edward had written.

_I love you too Edward. And I'll never forget you. Promise._

_-MC_

Madeleine slowly closed the door of the cellar and stood up. The steps had just led up to a dead end that had been placed there so somebody could look through a crack through the kitchen wall. She bit her lip. That had been Edward's place, she knew that now. And she didn't have to think that he was hiding anything from her, because she knew that if she'd asked, he would of told her.

* * *

Her dark hair moved back and forth as Madeleine scanned the forest. Then she found what she was looking for. A black blob, something slightly darker than the surrounding forest. Madeleine's throat burned with anger. How dare he. How dare _anyone_?

* * *

The man-in-black watched the figure staring directly at him. He could see the plainly written rage all over her face. He almost smiled. She was mad, but unfortunately, that could not be helped. He would kill Edward all over again- _for what it'll gain._ The man's mouth twitched. _She's such a silly one. So... strange._ But for a moment, his indifference was almost replaced by wistfulness. _He was that way. A lot._ But the man-in-black pushed the feeling down.

_To have feelings is to be..._ He thought for a moment. _FLO_. It was a little abbreviation that he'd been toying with the idea of. Not that he knew it was an abbreviation. That was Jane's category. _For Losers Only._ His eyes began to twinkle as he rode away into the night. _And I am definitely anything but a loser._

* * *

L: _Hey Ed, can I ask you a question since Maddie just went to go get water?_

E: _Hm. Shoot._

L: _I was wondering, if the girls are going to sit around and paint their toenails pink tomorrow night, how about we call up Tom and watch the football game? It's the Colts playing the Giants._

E: _Sweet idea dude! Let's see, Tom can bring the chips and bean dip. God knows he's got a lot of it! You can bring the..._

L: _Beer and nachos._

E: _Fine. And I'll supply the TV, along with the couch. The kids are going to be visiting Ian and Amy so we can sit out in the front room..._

L: _I _love_ how you always wriggle out getting the food. Maybe it's not that bad though. I mean, there was the time when Tom practically choked because of the brownies..._

E: _Yeah, sure, my pleasure. But if you even _think_ about mixing in chili sauce in with those nachos..._

L: _I won't! Geeze, that was hot! Anyway, since we're done here, and Maddie's coming back... See you tomorrow! Oh, wait a second though. Do we lock the door or not?_

E: _Don't lock it. Maddie's going to be back here within thirty minutes of leaving. She's never going to let Jane paint her nails pink. That girl... Is she ever learn?_

L: _Doubt it. Older brothers and sister never do..._

E: _Ha! See you tomorrow!_

* * *

**The votes about the italic parts have ended. I would have chopped the poll anyway, because I have a lot more ideas. Thanks so much to Alex. *gives Alex 75% credit for the italic parts* She's saved me from a horror you can't even imagine. **_**The story would END! **_**So thank Alex once more.**

*** If you could see my computer screen- not this one, the other one, the off-line one- you would see the little notes done in a different handwriting. Madeleine's would be different from Edward's, ect.. But since I can't change fonts here, they're just put into italics. As well as the checkmarks. Just- imagine the check marks for me. Okay? *insert consolating comment here***

**There's one thing that I really need to mention though. ALEX REMEMBERED THE VIAL! The vial is EVERYTHING in this story. If you don't remember what the vial did, then you need to go re-read chapter one. Another thing though, is that the vial is connected to whoever's DNA is inside. Madeleine didn't even **_**know **_**Edward at the time she made the vial with Luke, so it's impossible for the vial to connect to Edward. So. I'll leave the other question up to you. Did Edward really die?**

**Question; Who thought this chapter was too sappy?**


	34. Retaliation

**By the way, someone wanted to know how Madeleine would act without Edward. A very interesting question. I, truthfully, didn't take that avenue, so I didn't show anything about that side like in 'New Moon' (Twilight series). One thing I wanted to say though, is do not take this chapter as the core of Madeleine's character. People change throughout their lives. Think of everything, then as Madeleine is in this chapter. Once more, the chapter after this shows Madeleine's character better.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

M:_ Luke Cahill... It doesn't matter. I am not going back to Jane's. We are writing this!_

L: _But- but the _game's _on! It's in the second quarter! It's almost _halftime_!_

M: _Halftime! Halftime is where there is no football on. Come on, it's a pretty short chapter. We can write this!_

L: _I wish you'd just stayed at Jane's. Why didn't you anyway? She was offering you free _pink_ nail polish. It was 'such' a deal!_

M: _If she was offering free nail polish remover on the side, I might have done it. Besides, I froze all their toothbrush bristles in ice, folded the bed sheets so they wouldn't be able to get into them, and hid Jane's oil paints. I thought I'd skip out of town before the trail grew hot._

L: _And I thought ruining her painting was mean... How do you know those two aren't going to suspect you the second they climb into bed? Katherine's going to be _pissed _when she finds her-_

M: _'Awesome, mechanical' toothbrush frozen solid? It's not mean! I was just teasing! And it's not like they can't melt the ice off the brushes!_

L: _Roasting toothbrushes over an open fire. Catchy._

M: _Knowing Jane, I'll bet she can make a song out of that. I'll double dare her sometime..._

L: _Well for heaven's sake, get on with it! Tom and Edward are in the front room watching the game and eating all the nachos while I have to sit back here with you! Hurry up and start writing!_

* * *

_Two Years Later;_

**Chapter Thirty-one;**

**Retaliation**

Luke walked down the hall and opened the lab's door. He was tired by Six, annoyed by Seven, and you never wanted to talk to him at Eight, but there was one thing he still needed to do. Frowning slightly, Luke jiggled the key in the lock to open it. It did, easily. And he walked into the room.

Pushed against the back, was a wooden table that went that length of the wall. He allowed himself a moment to smile slightly in pride at his accomplishments. It hadn't been easy, but by edging a few mixing secrets out Katherine, it was done. It was done to absolute perfection. And then, he would be able to complete his dream -and his promise.

Luke stepped up to the table, not noticing that the small window in the left corner above the table was cracked open. He reached for the vial in the middle of the table. _This, is the greatest minute of my life. Of the world._ He picked it up.

"Drop it."

Luke frowned. There was nobody in the house. Where had whoever-this-was, come from? "Who are you?"

"Anything you want me to be." The voice behind him answered. It was neither sweet, nor sour; loud, nor soft. "And I don't think I necessarily have to be human to scare you. But that doesn't matter. Drop the vial. Now."

"Why should I?" Luke wished he had his dagger on hand.

The voice spoke softly, a threat clearly heard. "I can be your worst nightmare."

"I don't have nightmares." Luke shot back. He could feel his eyes narrowing. If he could just reach that stupid pen knife he always kept in his pocket.

"Everyone has nightmares." The voice whispered. He could sense it getting closer. "At one time or another. Turn around and go against the back wall. Stay there."

Luke's eyebrows pulled together. "Why?" He demanded.

"Because a nightmare," The voice turned into ice, locking him in place. He had heard the voice before. He was certain of it. Somewhere... "Just might come true."

There was a crack of laughter that broke the air. "You want me to believe that." He set the vial down on the table. It was probably best to keep it out of the line of fire if things got rough. He spun around on his heel. "You want me to believe- What?" He nearly burst out laughing again. The person that had been behind him was a pale boy in a too-large tunic. His hair looked scraggly since single black strands hung down from under his mangled straw hat. The boy had green eyes as well. Piecing green eyes. After his laugh, Luke nearly jumped when he looked at the boy. _It looks like him- back from the dead._

"Are you going to listen?" The boy asked.

Luke crossed his arms. It was ironic as the top of the boy's head just managed to reach Luke's nose. "Depends. What are you here for?"

A slow smile leaked across the boy's face. "It depends, like you said. Only that depends on if you're going to listen or not. Do I have to ask the question again?"

"Who are you?" Luke breathed.

The boy's face gave an obvious twitch to hide a smile. "You don't recognize me?"

"Should I?"

The boy thought for a moment. "Perhaps. I think it depends on what you want to remember. I actually prefer not to remember you. But that's different."

Luke scanned the boy up and down. He was thin, but he didn't seem to be lacking anything in the strength category. He was wearing boots, speckled with mud, but they were the kind for riding that he had seen a lot of the country yokels using. Now what business had he had with any of the country people lately?... "No, I don't recognize you."

The boy stared up at him with a sly smile, and then pulled off his hat. Luke noticed a stick being pulled out with it, and then he knew, even before the hat had been pulled off completely. There was only one person in the world who would dare to impersonate a boy. "Madeleine Cahill," He breathed. "Why are you here?"

The Murderer smiled sweetly up at him, tossing the hat and stick carelessly under the table. But Luke could see that there was a difference in her eyes. This wasn't the Madeleine he had known and fought against for all his life. She had switched the tides. She had made herself the cat, and had placed him as the mouse. And if it there was one thing Luke hated, it was being a mouse. "I had some business with a rat. I was thinking on that for a while. It seems like they happen to run in my family. Quite an inconvenience. Don't you think?"

"You're the only rat there is." Luke shot back.

Madeleine's eyes glittered. "I wasn't that sure." She breathed. "I've learned that there's more than one kind of rat. There's white, and black, and brown, and gray, and the kind that has fleas and carries the plague. The kind that killed my brother."

Luke suddenly felt cornered. Nobody had ever talked to him about Lucas. Definitely not after he died. Especially not like this. Madeleine stared up at him. Her eyes weren't like he'd ever seen them. The laughter that had always been there was gone. She was serious. And mad. And although he knew what other people could do when they were mad, there was one person that was the wild card. Madeleine. "If you say another word." Luke hissed through his teeth, "So help me I'll-"

"What?" Madeleine stared back into his eyes, unafraid. She was partly laughing, a small smile twitching on her lips. Trying to intimidate her wasn't going to work. "You're going to what? Try and kill me? You'd have to get out of the room first to get your dagger. I won't let you do that. And fortunately, I prize myself on being a bit more swift and agile than you. What are you going to do?"

The reply was stuck in Luke's face, taunting him, poking him in the side and daring him to poke her back when there was a knife in her hand. "I promised you that I'd kill you." He whispered. Only Madeleine's green eyes stared back up at him. _Too much like Lucas._ "And I promise you that I will. And if I don't, then someone will. I know that much."

Madeleine's expression changed. She was thinking. "I know that promise." She nodded slightly, respecting it. "But there's also another promise you made me. One you broke. Are you going to keep that one?"

"If I broke it, can I still keep it?" A wry smile twitched it's way across Luke's mouth.

"If you wanted to. Go away from the table." Madeleine shot back. The words were like a musket shot. Luke turned around and took a few steps so Madeleine was between him and the table. Madeleine's mouth twitched down. "Farther."

"You didn't tell me how far away I had to stand."

The green eyes glittered with maliciousness. "Against the wall." Luke didn't move. It was funny, he was almost frozen in place, time spinning around him. But he couldn't feel anything. He watched, unseeing as a dagger with an ivory handle was flipped out of Madeleine's pocket. She held it down by her side. "Against the wall."

Luke stepped back to where she wanted him. "What do you want?" He finally blinked, pulling himself together.

"I saw you that night." Madeleine whispered. She stepped closer to Luke. He could see all the tiny mosaics in her eyes, glistening. "I heard that snap."

"So?"

The corner of Madeleine's lip curled up into a snarl. She could of been a vampiress with her black hair and pale skin. "You're the murderer," She whispered. "Not me."

"What are you talking about?"

He watched Madeleine's hand curl a millimeter more tightly around the dagger. "When you murdered Edward."

Luke felt something snap inside him. "Now look here Madeleine, I-"

"You _what_?" Madeleine cut him off for the second time. "You _what_? You're going to deny it? _I saw your foot there! _I saw it!" Her face was six inches from Luke's. "I didn't even stoop that low. Not to _lie_."

"I wasn't going to say that." Luke breathed.

"Sure you weren't." Madeleine whispered back. She stepped closer, forcing Luke to press up against the wall. She raised the dagger and held the tip of the blade to his throat. "The one thing that trips you," She breathed. "Is you don't believe you're human. I may be human, but you are too." There was a soft breath. "I could kill you." Her eyes looked like a cat's waiting to pounce on a mouse. "It would be easy, you know that don't you." Madeleine's eyes glittered. "Like slicing butter." She paused, judging Luke's reaction. Then she dragged the dagger tip lightly over Luke's throat. He drew in a breath.

"I could go for the throat, or jaw," She placed the dagger at his jaw bone. "Or the heart." The dagger wasn't lowered from it's place. "If I were in your place, you wouldn't hesitate to kill me." She spoke the truth, but Luke couldn't help thinking of one place where he had been over her. He could of killed her, but he wouldn't. He couldn't. "But I'm not like you." The dagger-holding hand dropped and Madeleine stepped away.

"I don't want blood on my hands." She whispered. "There's plenty on them. What about you?"

Luke didn't reply. He was busy enough trying to figure out what she meant.

"You killed Edward." Madeleine breathed. "You killed him. You purposely set out with a mission, and you did it. Did you even think about it? Did you think about what it was going to cause? Did you pause? Did you hesitate? I have three children. And the oldest two can barely remember him. I have a little two year old-" Madeleine's voice broke. "That can't remember her Father at all." Madeleine took a deep breath to calm herself, but she still blinked with her watery eyes. "Did you think about that?" She whispered.

There was nothing Luke could reply.

"You didn't care about the people you hurt. It didn't matter to you."

Luke didn't say anything.

* * *

_I loved you!_ Madeleine wanted to scream. _I would of given anything so you and I would be friends again! _But the words wouldn't come out. She could only stare into the impassive face -so much like her own. The person who had murdered the one she loved. Madeleine turned away to her left. Lining the right wall were sacks and jars, all containing some substance. Madeleine ran her eyes over the wall and counted them. Sure enough, there were 38.

She stepped over closer to the wall and picked up the first sack. It was lighter than it looked. _Clover; for Lillia._ And each one of the glasses and jars went; being smashed. And the bags were torn and crushed into the ground. Each one was for a person. One that Madeleine had known in her lifetime that had been hurt in some way by the clues.

* * *

L:_ I was so mad when you did that..._

M: _Hm... I wonder. Of course you were mad. That was stated like- five times!_

L: _You don't have to be so pushy about it. I'm not Jane you know..._

* * *

Luke watched Madeleine's destructive path with a horrified gaze inside his impassive demeanor. He let himself give a soft sigh of relief though, when she passed the small bag that held a few ounces of gold. He had worked for so long trying to find that- He didn't want to think of the consequences if she destroyed it.

Sliding his hand into his pocket, Luke slowly pulled out his pocket knife. He adjusted the weight in his hand, getting comfortable with it. And then there was a heavy thump as a dagger slammed into the wood not two inches from his left ear. Luke didn't move. Madeleine walked up, one hand on the dagger, but her face was almost pressed up against Luke's; eyes boring into his. "Don't."

"Why not?" Luke suddenly found he'd been holding his breath. "Is it against the law to hold a knife?"

"Remember," Madeleine whispered back, almost a sneer on her face. "What I said about you, thinking you're invincible?" There was an nearly unseeable shake of her head. "Don't."

Luke gave an upward thrust with the small knife, but only felt a 'whoosh' of air, as it was swept out of his hand and knocked into a corner. Madeleine's green eyes glittered at him. "I said; don't try it."

Luke's eyes began to glitter.

_Oh can't I._

* * *

Madeleine wasn't prepared for the thrust sending her backward to the floor. She also wasn't ready for the lunge as he picked up his knife again. But one advantage of being Madeleine Cahill was that she could think on her feet, and that meant- thinking fast. Madeleine rolled over and pushed herself up just as Luke's knife plunged into the ground where she'd been laying. Madeleine's eyes scanned the room. The only way she could probably get Luke to simmer instead of boil, was to hold something over his head.

_Glass, glass, pile of clues, junk, glass,_ and her eyes lit on the small bag of gold. Madeleine avoided another thrust, then plowed over to the thin crack between the right wall and the table, grabbing the bag of gold on the way. "Don't move." She hissed to Luke.

"Why should I?" He snapped. Madeleine could see every inch of his body poised to strike, ready to kill her. But he didn't move. "Why?"

Madeleine bent down till she was almost under the table, and pushed up. She felt the table rise with her hands, but it hid her view and she couldn't see anything except wood, and Luke's horrified face. She heard the shattering of hundreds of little glass tubes, and when the last one hit the ground, she let the table down with a thump. She looked Luke straight in his eyes. "That's why."

He was so stunned he couldn't move. Madeleine slid back out of the crack and tossed the bag of gold on top of the broken glass. It was then she saw it was leaking; a thin stream of gold flakes pouring out. She turned to Luke again. "That's for Edward."

The brown eyes zeroed in on her. For a moment, they held an emotion close to amazement, and then a roaring, snapping hatred poured in as he lunged at her. Madeleine turned to the side and Luke's knife plunged into table wood. Madeleine held her dagger in one hand while he tried to pull it out. His back was turned away from her, and it was a perfect shot, but she couldn't make herself do it. She couldn't let herself kill him. _He's my brother._ And then the moment was past. Madeleine had lost her chance.

Madeleine met Luke's eyes, but she could feel there was nothing more for her here. That was, unless she wanted to get killed. And that couldn't happen. She had three daughters to care for. Three daughters to love and most of all, to protect. She had to protect them from the monster who was dancing around her, striking, lunging, avoiding. He wouldn't hesitate to kill them- Madeleine knew. He would kill them just as heartlessly as he had killed Edward- and destroy her heart besides.

With the motivator, Madeleine's eyes gathered a new spark of life in them. She waited until Luke had lunged again. But she didn't just side-step, she flung herself onto him as he stumbled forward. He slammed into the wall. And then she kept her shoulder pressed hard against him so he couldn't move. There wasn't fear in his eyes, just hate. But he couldn't move to do anything about it.

Madeleine wanted to scream at him. It would of been so easy; just to pound her fist into his stomach. Scream, yell, take back Edward, and Olivia, and Gideon, and everyone who had been lost from her. Forever. It would of been so easy to thrust her dagger into his throat and see the red blood gushing onto the floor as he fell. But Madeleine remembered what she had told him. And she remembered the unequaled pain she had felt when Edward died. Would Luke's wife feel that way? Were his sons going to rush up into the house when they were back from town and find him dead? Was she going to make them go through the same suffering she and her daughters had felt? Or was she going to do the right thing? To set him free.

The blood-hungry eyes stared up at her, unafraid -unconcerned at what she would choose. Madeleine couldn't stand them. She could feel the hateful vibes echoing around her through the room. Pulsing, they rushed around her, holding her captive, rendering her helpless except for the sound of her own, giant, tick-tocking clock. _It's a clock that can stop beating just as easy as Luke's._

Madeleine kept the dagger there, but she relaxed. There was no captive anymore, only the cat and the mouse were left. But which was which still had to be decided. "Why did you leave that night?" Madeleine whispered.

She could feel Luke's ribcage struggling to breathe against the pressure. Madeleine lightened up on him, but still kept him firmly pinned down. "What night?"

"When we weren't a family anymore."

Luke's eyes glittered. "You're a murderer."

"You're a murderer too." Madeleine whispered. "We swore we'd always be friends." There was a swallow before Madeleine went on. "You said that you'd always love me, no matter what I did. You lied."

"To a murderer!" Luke hissed back.

"To your sister!" Madeleine started to choke back sobs. "You _lied_!" There was a soft sniff. "I loved you." Her voice broke. "I loved you with all my heart. I thought I could trust you... but I was wrong. Wrong." They stared into each other's eyes. "I wished -and I prayed. I wanted you to come back. But-" Madeleine's voice shook. "You never did. Please," Madeleine whispered. "Don't make the serum again. It only tore our family apart. It'll just destroy yours."

Madeleine let him go. She backed up till she was near the pile of glass. Curiously, there was a small vial that caught her eye that wasn't broken. She scooped it up, found a list at the bottom of the pile and picked that up too. Stuffing them into her pocket, Madeleine looked back at Luke and pulled a piece of paper she had written on before she'd come. She held her dagger in one hand and fingered it. So much time had gone into it. So much work. But it would be better to remind, to warn, to help.

She slammed the dagger into the wall and laid the note on the table. "This is to warn," She slid her hand off of the paper it had been resting on, and laid it lightly on the dagger. "And this is to remind you what you did." Madeleine turned around and then paused. "I promise you Luke, the third time- I won't hesitate to carry out the threat."

* * *

Luke paused a moment too long before he flung his knife at Madeleine. It slammed into the wall just below the window. She was gone. Giving a venomous glare, Luke looked down at the note on the table.

_Luke,_

_First time; warning._

_Second time; threat._

Third time; you lose something you hold dear.

_What a load of hogwash._ Luke thought. He reached for the dagger, yanked it out of the wall and held it.

The handle was uncomfortable and too small for him. But he vaguely realized that it had been made to fit Madeleine's hand down to a T. The blade was steel, but the handle was pure white ivory. Luke flipped it over to the other side. There was a large, black engraved M on the front. It was just like the knife that he'd made when he was younger. Madeleine had copied it, using it as her diagram. He was her enemy, not her elder brother anymore. Yet she still followed him; still copied, and still tried to get his approval, that she wanted more than anything.

For the first time, Luke nearly felt remorse at what he had done. Nearly.

* * *

L: HALFTIME SHOW, HERE I COME!

M: _I never knew someone could run that fast to a football game. My God, he could probably beat Tom if he tried. That would be pretty funny actually. Well, since Edward's going to dig a hole in the bottom of that empty nacho container, and Tom's going to break somebody's eardrums, I better get back into the front room. Steelers vs. Packers indeed... Dumb Superbowl..._

* * *

**Remorse. Nice right? It's so funny, I'm thinking of how this story would read, if I wasn't the one who wrote it. It sound completely different, let me tell you. It's so funny to think if I didn't know what would happen next. I still don't know how people put stories on the internet, but don't know what their next chapter is going to be about. I **_**need**_** to have the entire story down in my head before I begin to write it. But anyway, that's beside the point...**

**Credit for the italic parts actually goes to me, although the idea of Jane and a slumber party was Alex's idea. 50/50 this time. I think that's fair... I'm curious to know what people thought of the Superbowl commercials! (For all you people who weren't reading 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, like me...) The Doritos ones were my favorites! I'm curious!**

**Question; What did you like and/or dislike about this chapter? How were the italic parts? I thought I did a pretty good job on those!**


	35. A Storyteller

****

**I'm not back. Let's get that straight right now if any of you are questioning that fact. I'm putting the last chapter up of the italics I wrote. So... R, E, and R!**

**Credit for the italics go to Alex again! This time I didn't really think they were all that funny, although I tried.**

**DORITO COMMERCIALS FOREVER! I loved the 'Ford' one where they were saying; "Tommy fell down the well!" Loved it. The Darth Vader one was cute, but not really funny. The Doreito pug was HILARIOUS! That one and 'Grandpa comes back to life with magic Dorito cheesy dust'. My favorite... It was funny, I didn't watch the football game, I watched the commercials. Lol.**

**Someone also asked if this was the end. *cough, cough* Does it look like we've hit Chapter Forty-three to you? Sorry, but if you glance at the titles I have, it states very clearly, 'no'. No, no, no, no.**

**So anyway, that's the answer to that question. Sorry if I was rude there...**

* * *

_EDWARD!_

_Oh God, I'm done with this. Through. All the way through. I'm tired of broken chords, breaking my ears. It's not fair. No, no, no, I guess it is fair. Edward is alotted his amount of fun around the house. But GUITAR? Not even _I _have done something as stupid as THAT!_

_Anyway, this is written all by me. _I_ get all the credit here!_

_-MC (And EC, yes. And- and... Oh, fine. LC too.)_

* * *

_Four Years Later;_

**Chapter Thirty-two;**

**A Storyteller**

"Mother, tell us a story. Please?"

"It's past your bedtime." Madeleine tucked the little blond haired girl in. Large blue eyes turned up to her though.

"Please? One about Father."

Madeleine softly ran her hand over her daughter's pale cheek. Even the shape of her face looked so much like Edward's. Madeleine sighed. "Alright Hope. Grace are you listening?" There was an almost incomprehensible mumble from a shape wrapped under a heavy quilt. "You should be in bed like your sister." Madeleine motioned to Hope. "Lillia!"

Suddenly footsteps came heavier and heavier. Madeleine looked expectantly towards the entrance to the lean-to shelter. A girl burst into the door, panting. Her dress was hopelessly ripped and muddied and there were a few twigs in her hair. She was smiling though. "Someone came." She panted. "It's a letter... for you Mother."

Madeleine nodded, with a wry look at her daughter's dress. It was too much like her own so often was. "I'll look at it later. Sit down, I was just going to tell your sisters a story."

"About what?" Lillia compliantly plopped down on the floor.

"Your Father."

Lillia closed her eyes, as if thinking hard. She couldn't find any memories except her; being thrown up into the air. Her Mother was on the side, laughing. But the face of whoever was throwing her was blank. She closed her eyes tighter, but she couldn't remember anything. There was only one other memory, of her and Grace sitting together on a log. She could remember her heart pounding for some reason. She had been so scared. She had been holding something. She couldn't remember what it was. But there was her Mother, at the edge of the clearing. Her face was darkened by ash, but Lillia had still been able to see the torment in it. Her Mother was frightened. And then her Mother screamed and ran forward -and the memory ended.

Lillia opened her eyes. "Please, tell us Mother."

"Tell us about when Father picked you up with a basket of kittens!" Hope sat up in bed, blue eyes peering anxiously at her Mother.

A smile twitched lightly across Madeleine's face. "You have that one completely memorized. Now..." She thought for a minute. "Did I ever tell you about the time your Father went and spied on me?"

Lillia shook, then cocked her head, listening. "No, what happened?"

Madeleine smiled. "We were in Holland. And that morning, your Father disappeared." Madeleine's face gave a twinge of distaste. "I was stuck in the Inn's kitchen all that morning so I couldn't look for him, and then a little girl asked me to tell her a story. I went outside, and I was telling her a story. It was the story about Luke Starkiller, remember?" The girls all nodded. "Well I was almost to the end, and then a little boy fell straight from the tree we were sitting under. Edward and him had been hiding in that tree listening to the story." The girls all giggled. "Now off to bed." Madeleine got up and softly gave Grace and Hope a kiss on the cheek. "Go to bed. You too Lillia." Madeleine added on second thought as she left the lean-to. She gave a firm glance at her oldest daughter. "Good night."

* * *

_Two Hours Later;_

"Lillia," Madeleine gently shook her eldest daughter's shoulder to wake her up. "Lillia, come outside. I need to talk to you." Big, green eyes blinked. Lillia got up and followed her Mother outside, still half-asleep and not really seeing anything.

It was dark outside. Lillia could see a few bats flickering around, scooping up mosquitoes. The fire was still lit brightly. Her Mother must of added another log to it. Lillia sniffed the air. _Oak._ That always made a pretty scent. The girl turned to look at her Mother. Her eyebrows were pulled together; her eyes dark, and vacant. "What's going on?" Lillia whispered.

"Sit down," They both sat on the ground in front of the fire, watching the flickering flames. "Lillia," Madeleine breathed. "I have to leave."

"That's no problem." The twelve year old staunchly replied. "Grace and I can run things until you get back, and Hope can help-"

"No," Madeleine whispered. She shook her head lightly. "This is different Lil. I won't be gone just for a few days, this will take weeks. And- and there's the chance that I might never come back."

A look of confusion settled on Lillia's face. "What?"

Madeleine ran the letter she had intercepted over in her mind. She had already read it enough times to memorize it.

_Luke Cahill, In the Year of our Lord, 1520_

_My dearest Katherine; I hope this finds you in good health, as am I. The last I've heard, Jane is doing well. You have my regrets about the accident in your lab._

_'You have my regrets.'_ Madeleine's mouth almost twitched into a smile at the thought. _The most amount of emotion you'll ever get out of Luke.  
_

_I haven't seen The Murderer for almost four years. That's a good thing. I hope that I'll never see her again. I know it's sinful wishes to say this, but I do hope that she died in some remote place. Then nobody will have to be bothered to bury her. But I hardly think that she'll convenience that person with doing it. She always was a bother._

_But I'm getting off track. What I wanted to tell you, is that I've made another vial of the serum. I've sent Ivan down to get the last ingredient. Clover. I only want the best. Then with that, perhaps I can travel to Italy, and Egypt and, perchance, Japan to give it to each of you. I think the world will be all brilliance now!_

_I've heard of your invention The Fork. I thought it quite ingenious, although not quite useful. How are you suppose to eat soup? The broth runs out through the holes. Ah well, I prefer my spoon, but remember, I do think it's ingenious. Keep trying._

_Your constant brother,_

_Luke Cahill  
_

_But with that, he sent me to do something that I promised him I would do. _Madeleine bit her lip in uncertainty.

"Mother..." Lillia peered anxiously into her Mother's face. "What were you going to say?"

"Oh, I-" Madeleine looked at her daughter. Edward had always said that they looked alike. He would often joke that if he didn't know that his wife was the larger one, that he would get them mixed up. Madeleine knew that. She had looked into the little girl's eyes the first day she'd held her, and known that. But Lillia truly wasn't like her, she was like Edward. Always laughing, panting at the first running step, but unmistakably loyal to whom she gave her heart. That was Edward. And that was Lillia too. "I have to tell you a story Lillia." She whispered, looking off at the fire's flames.

"I like stories." Madeleine felt it as Lillia settled down beside her.

Madeleine didn't say anything to Lillia's comment. "A long time ago," She started off, whispering. "There was a little girl. She had two brothers, and two sisters, and a Mother and a Father who loved them all very much. The girl grew up, and she, and her oldest brother were almost always together. They would do everything they could together, and they swore that they'd always love each other, and they'd never part.

"But in this family, each of the children had one talent. The oldest brother could put anything together. He could build anything, so long as there was an order to it. And he knew about order. He could manage anything. The oldest sister was..." Madeleine searched for a word. "Brilliant. She could invent something, out of nothing. Thin air." Lillia pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. She listened. "The second brother- he could run all day and not get tired. Any sport was like soft pudding for him. And then the second sister- She was... she was artistic. She would sit all day in front of a harpsichord and-" Lillia made a face at the anticipated word. "Compose.

"But the last child," Madeleine looked at the stars. Ursa Minor twinkled above them, the stars laughing. "She was different. She just-"

"She what?" Lillia pushed, eager.

"She didn't have _a_ talent." Madeleine whispered. "She had all of them. She was orderly, smart, playful, and artistic. But I think she had another thing. It was almost like she had a talent for loving life. She knew how to laugh, and play jokes, and tease. And she was able to love too. And care for others. Her family wasn't able to work together. It was like each of them was talking a different language to the other. They didn't want to know what was going on, on someone else's island. They wanted to stay with what they knew, and understood.

"The girl didn't want that. She wanted to be free. To reach the stars. To escape all that was holding her back." Madeleine smiling rather sadly. "So she dressed up like a boy and went out like the fields when her Father and brother weren't working there. She met the farm hand." Madeleine smiled again. "And he just seemed to grab her. They worked together, that is- until two of the brothers and sisters found out. They told on her, and then she wasn't allowed to go outside again. It broke her heart." There was another sad smile. "It broke her heart to be kept inside. And her family was torn apart more than ever. She wanted all of them to work together, so she set fire to the house, hoping that trying to build a new one would pull them together."

There was a long pause. "The Father and Mother were killed in the fire, and the older brothers and sisters discovered that their sister had set it. They called her a murderer and drove her off, even though it was only an accident. Lillia-" Madeleine couldn't meet her daughter's eyes. "That- that girl was me."

Lillia's eyes widened and she stared at her Mother. "Who was the farm hand?" She finally whispered.

"Your Father." Madeleine smiled. "We loved each other- from the moment we met. But your grandfather never would of allowed me to marry him. He was a farm hand. But once he'd died, and the family split apart-" There was a soft twinkle in Madeleine's eyes. "There was nobody to say 'no'. Only me." Madeleine paused. "I'll just say that your Father was a wonderful man. And he could talk a pig into being clean. I married him." She looked at Lillia. "And I have three wonderful children to show for it."

Lillia smiled back at her for a minute, then it faded. "Mother, how- how did Father die?"

Madeleine looked into the flickering flames. It was funny how similar they looked to the ones that had swallowed Edward up that night. Madeleine remembered that the cellar door had been made of oak. But this was her chance to tell Lillia the truth. That her uncles and aunts would hate her as long as she lived -unless she disappeared off the face of the earth. That she was one of the only people who could pull the family back together. That her Mother was called The Murderer. Madeleine stared into the fire for as long as she could without hurting her eyes. "Lillia, your Father, he- he was..." Madeleine couldn't force the word out. It hurt too much. "He was murdered."

Lillia's eyes widened in horror. She blinked quickly, and Madeleine could see tears starting to form behind the thick lashes.

"Remember what I said about my eldest brother? Your uncle, he hates me worst of all. He came, and I think he set fire to the house. He drove us out, and then he hurt your Father so he couldn't get away from the flames." Madeleine didn't finish. She knew that Lillia understood.

"But- you can't let him get away with that!" Lillia cried. "You know that he murdered him! He could go to prison for that!"

Madeleine shook her head. And turned to face her daughter. "Lillia, I'm only telling you this because I have to leave soon. I don't want to leave you with anybody. It's too dangerous. I don't want to leave you at all. But it can't be helped. If I need to leave you with someone," She whispered softly. "I can."

"No!" Lillia shook her head violently. "No! But why won't you turn him in?"

Madeleine held a finger to her lips. "He's my brother, first of all. And second, It's... it's wrong."

"But he-"

"I know what he did." Madeleine nodded. "And now you know too. But revenge isn't right. Justice is, retaliation is, but not revenge. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, won't fit here Lillia. This isn't a game. I'm telling you about him because I know that he won't hesitate to kill you if he finds you. He will murder you without a second thought. Just because you're my daughter."

Lillia shrank down, almost like she was trying to pull away from her Mother's words. "But... why? I didn't even know he existed."

"Because you're my daughter." Madeleine looked into the green eyes. "And because you look just like me. He's ruthless." She whispered. "Luke will stop at nothing once he finds you. He tracked me for six years all over France, and Spain, and Holland. He almost killed me when your Father and I were married. He set a trap in the church. That's how much he knows."

"So..."

"If you cross his path, he'll kill you without a second thought. Do you still want to stay here?" Madeleine watched her daughter's every movement.

"I want to stay." Lillia whispered. "But Mother, why do you have to go?"

"I made a promise." The whisper from Madeleine was so quiet Lillia almost wondered if it was the wind. "And I've got to keep it." There was a soft pause, with two pairs of emerald green eyes staring directly at each other. A word began to itch at Madeleine's mind. Something Edward had told her so long ago. Something- something he'd been teasing her with. _M- Mad- Madelinis? No... _"You are Madrigals." Madeleine finally whispered, swallowing hard. "You and Grace and little Hope. You three have to bring the family together, and not allow my brothers and sisters to get the clues or make the serum either.

"You can't let that happen. No matter what. Promise me. Please Lil. And if you can't make them work together, then your daughters, or your sons. Your sisters too. Me and my family, we're gone Lil. I- I could try and wish for hope, but- I- I truly don't think there is. Not for the five of us. But their children, or their children's children... Please Lil, _promise_ me you'll do it. And you'll do everything in your power. No, within your power, your children's power, and their children's power. _Please._ You've got to."

Lillia bit her lip and stared at her Mother with sleepy, frightened, desperate eyes. "I- I promise Mother. I- I don't know though. I'm not smart, or strong, or- anything. _How_?"

Madeleine met her daughter's eyes. "It may not seem like you are," She breathed. "But inside- inside, you are everything you truly can be. You can do anything you want to do, if you really want to. Inside."

Lillia turned her head away from her Mother, afraid of meeting those kind, loving eyes that expected so much. "But- I'm just _twelve_. They're adults- _grownups_! I can't stop them!"

There was a soft sigh. "I don't want you to fix what I've done." Madeleine whispered. "But in this world, there are people who know nothing about the serum. About the clues that make it. If one of my brothers, or sisters gets it, everything will be thrown out of balance. They will _rule_. They will become the most powerful person in the _world_. In the _world_ Lillia. Those people who know nothing will be crushed- trampled under someone they knew nothing of. Those letters-"

Madeleine looked down at the ground. "Those letters Lillia, they're not for me. They're between my brothers and sisters. I make sure none of them are getting close to finishing the serum. I know they'll always write about it in their letters. They can't help boasting about it to one another. And- and then I stop them."

"Why?" Lillia breathed. "Why- why is it that important? Why did Father- Father have to die. Why did he have to be murdered? Why does everybody hate us so much? Why can't we just- just live, live alone? You won't even take us back to the house we use to live in."

Madeleine stood up and sighed. "There's no house there anymore Lil."

The woman gently brushed away a tear that was trickling down Lillia's cheek. The girl's lip quivered dangerously. "I want Father back." Sobs riddled the words.

"I know," Madeleine wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, hugging her close. "I know," She whispered. "So do I."

* * *

Madeleine stood in front of her horse, holding the reins. She was dressed in breeches and a tunic, ones that she had made quickly for herself. Lillia, Grace, and Hope were standing in order in front of her, waiting for whatever she would say. Madeleine's eyes looked each one of them over -they were all dressed, ironically, in breeches- then she zeroed in on Lillia. The girl's black hair was falling all around her shoulders, green eyes peering anxiously up at her Mother. Madeleine took a deep breath, reached up, and pulled the red hair ribbon out of her hair. "Lillia," She whispered. "I want you to have this. Wear it always until I get back."

Lillia's eyes widened and she took the ribbon and tied it in her own hair.

"And this." Madeleine gently pulled a small, corked vial out of her pocket. It had a strip of paper wrapped around it. "Lillia, protect this with your life."

The girl had an unnerving sense of responsibility meant for far older people as she took it.

Madeleine turned to the next girl, Lillia's younger by three years. The girl stared back up at her with Edward's large blue eyes, and out of a nervous habit, fingered a lock of raven-black hair. "Help your sister Grace, and that doesn't mean running off every five minutes."

Grace kicked at a bit of dust with her bare foot, head down.

Madeleine smiled and slipped her finger under her daughter's chin so she would look her in the eye. "To have new ideas, isn't a bad thing, but there's a time, and a place for them. Think before you speak. Patience is a virtue, and silence-"

"-Is golden." Grace blushed while she spoke, as Lillia poked her in the side.

Madeleine shot her oldest daughter a disapproving glance. Then she went to the third girl in line. She only came to about Madeleine's hip, but her yellow curls went halfway down her back. Edward's blue eyes searched Madeleine's face intently, waiting for any emotion to leak out so she could interpret it and know what to do next. Madeleine knelt down so their faces were almost level. "Here." Slipping off her ring, Madeleine held it out to Hope. "It was my great-grandmother's. It always goes to the youngest daughter." Madeleine reached a hand up and ran it through the silky soft curls. Then she hugged the little girl to her. "Please be careful." She whispered. She didn't say it exactly to Hope, but more to Grace and especially to Lillia.

Lillia took a deep breath and let it out, but she matched her Mother's gaze unflinchingly.

Madeleine let go of Hope and stood up. "I should only be gone for ten weeks, at most. Lillia, you know what I told you last night. Don't let anyone know where you are. And if you do, move from place to place. But stay in this area so I can find you again." The girl nodded. "And all of you, get to bed before nine o'clock. Period."

All the girls deflated visibly.

"You thought you could get away with that, didn't you." Madeleine chuckled softly at all three, and then turned to Hope again. Perhaps, somewhere deep down inside, she knew she'd never see her youngest daughter again. She kissed the pale forehead softly and did the same with the other two. Madeleine mounted her horse. "You know how I do everything." Lillia nodded. "Be careful doing it."

Madeleine looked over the three solemn children in line one more time, memorizing them, then urged her horse into a canter and rode away.

* * *

_Edward's going to have to quit guitar two days after he took it up. He stinks anyway... Jane's ultimately convinced that she can teach him, but I'm not taking the chance._

_Here's a hint of what's going to happen too. When Edward wakes up in the morning, five little guitar strings are going to have mysteriously broken in the night. Oh, no surprise. I can predict the future! Can't I!_

_Totally amazed at my own brilliancy,_

_-MC (No signs for Ed and Luke here. SORRY GUYS!)_

* * *

**Dun dun dun dun... What will happen next? Everyone who read my profile probably already knows... But DON'T GO CHECK IT OUT JUST TO GET A SPILLER! PERIOD! I'm serious about that. An anonomous figure skater will show up at your door the next day! *giggles***

**It's funny, there really weren't any comments I wanted to make here, except; how does Madeleine's character differ here, than what I portrayed in the last chapter?**

**Question; Ditto above. Who wants me to re-write the italic parts in this chapter? Who thinks that part where Maddie spilled everything to Lil was disgusting and badly-written?**


	36. Two Promises Kept

**BUM-BADA-BUM!**

**I'M B-A-ACK!**

**The total horror. What happened was, I figured that NOBODY is EVER going to believe this story once Vespers Rising comes out. So here it is. We'll try and get to chapter 45 odd before April 5th. What do you think? But I am not BACK, back if you know what I mean...**

**Here you go. Chapter Thirty-three. This is actually very interesting. I never really IMAGINED that I'd ever get this far. Don't even talk to me about publishing it. Wait, give me a second... There.**

**This chapter is almost one of the best I've ever written, I think, besides Chapter Seven in TPWSTM. I enjoy reading it over, and over again, and finding the little mistakes to touch it up. Personally, I enjoy the last part the most, as it was almost totally made up from my imagination. Please though, I need to know if it's **_**realistic. **_**Good writing means nothing if it's not realistic. Please tell me if you don't think so.**

**As a comment to that last sentence, of **_**course **_**you'll think so. I'll virtually hit you with a non-able-to-hurt rubber ducky if you **_**do **_**think so. So, please, don't think it's good. I hate using my ducky.**

**R, B, and R! (Read, Barf, and Review!) (Barf over the horrible story...)**

* * *

L: _So? Really? Seriously? You're kicking Ed out of the rest of the story?_

M: _Why do you think he's not sitting in this room right now?_

L: _You answered a question with a question. Non-acceptable._

M: _No. I am answering a statement with a statement. Ha. Ha._

L: _Why in the world did Edward even _think_ about asking you to marry him?_

M: _Who knows?_

L: _Okay, seriously. Stop that Maddie._

M: _I think not._

L: _Do you think you're getting annoying?_

M: _My opinion doesn't count. Am I?_

L: _WRITE!_

M: _Hm... That's an exclamation... OKAY!_

L: _This stinks..._

M: ...

* * *

_Four Weeks Later;_

**Chapter Thirty-three;**

**Two Promises - Kept**

Madeleine took a deep breath.

This was it. A five step pathway leading to a rented home in Paris. But was the promise worth it? That was what she had to ask herself. Was the promise worth it? _Waste three lives and not fulfil what I said I'd do? -_ Madeleine didn't know how to respond to the question. She knew the answer that needed to be put there, but it was hard to put it in it's place. She would be killing her own nephew. But the nephew was Luke's son. He should easily be a rival, and an enemy to be hated. _But he isn't._ Madeleine noticed people starting to glance curiously at her. _Maybe I'm just... Weird. I can't do this. I can't kill him._ But if she did that, Luke would know he had nothing to fear from her, and he would just make the potion over again.

If that happened, he would inevitably drink it one way or another. The world would be... destroyed. _And people like Michelle, who don't know anything about this-_ Dead. Gone. Just like Edward. But it wasn't like Edward. He had known the risks. And like walking back into a burning house to save her, he had jumped blindly off a cliff. _All because he loved me. That can't go to waste. _Madeleine started up the stone steps.

* * *

Madeleine stepped into the first room, her black hair falling freely to her waist. She reached up a finger to feel Edward's ribbon, but for the millionth time in four weeks, Madeleine reminded herself that it wasn't there. She made no noise as she walked closer on the wood floor. In a side room, a left turn off from the main hallway, there was a figure hunched over a writing desk that had been rather pushed aside into a corner. Madeleine pulled out the dagger she had made. It was exactly like the one she had left with Luke. It had an ivory handle, with a large, black, engraved M on it.

Her brown, French-style dress nearly brushed the floor, and Madeleine held her breath, trying not to let it make a sound so nothing would be heard in the room except the scratching of the quill pen. _One minute Mads. That's all it'll take. You have a clear shot._ Madeleine wanted to throw the dagger and be done with the gruesome deed, but her hand was trembling so much she was sure that she'd miss the shot. As she stepped closer, she raised the dagger above her head- and the young man stopped writing.

Both people paused, and the room was deathly still. Each seemed to be trying to out-wait the other. And then Madeleine saw the problem. The oil lamp on the desk was clearly showing her shadow on the wall to the left of her. She cursed herself. How could she have been so stupid? _Do it now._ The dagger flashed down, but almost at the same instant, the man whirled around and met the dagger with a dagger of his own.

Their eyes met as the two people stood face to face. Madeleine almost gasped. Luke's resemblance in his son was eerie. They were two different people, but there was the same face, hair, structure, and the menacing look of hate in the brown eyes that hadn't changed. It was like looking a younger Luke.

The blades clashed back and forth. Neither opponent was better than the other. Perhaps Luke might of taken Madeleine down with his own dagger, but Madeleine could see that his son wasn't as attentive as he was. She pressed harder. Suddenly, a well-aimed slash countered with a lightly-held position. Madeleine's dagger went spinning away across the room. She looked desperately around for a weapon of some sort, but there was nothing.

Luke's son had been backed into a the corner nearest the writing desk, and behind him was a heavy oak bookshelf with books on it. Madeleine could see that as her only weapon. Side-stepping Luke's son, she reached for the biggest book she could find, but the wooden floor beneath her was old and worn. It collapsed.

Madeleine leaped back, and she had a clear view of the bookshelf as it silently began to fall. But the man didn't hear, or see it, and he was faced away. "Look!-" Madeleine reached out and grabbed frantically for him, but the man pulled away. "It's fall-" It was too late. There was a giant crash as the bookshelf landed on top of him.

Madeleine's eyes widened and she stepped away. She hadn't wanted it to end like this. She had just wanted it to be over and done with -quickly. But- but this wasn't like that. She hadn't killed him, this wasn't murder, it was an accident. An accident that _she_ had caused. But it wasn't on purpose. She took another step away.

_Why is it so quiet?_ Blood pounded in Madeleine's ears. For once, her mind was blank on what to do. And then she heard the front door open and footsteps in the hallway. Madeleine whirled around. A young man stood in the doorway, hands at his sides. His eyes flickered around the room, they widened, and he strode quickly over to where the bookshelf had fallen.

He knelt down, one hand gently on the wood. And then he turned to Madeleine, zeroing in on her. "What happened?"

Madeleine took another step back. The man was younger than Luke's other son, but it was easy to see that they had been brothers. The hair wasn't just black, it had light streaks of red in it. But the eyes were still the same. A flashing dark brown. "I-"

The young man stood up. "You killed him." He breathed. "You murdered him."

"No!" Madeleine shook her head. "I-"

"Who are you?" The man walked towards her. He pulled a dagger out of his pocket. His voice was low and soft- threatening. His lip was slightly curled up, like a snarling wolf, about to pounce. "Why are you here."

Madeleine backed up desperately against the wall near the door. She could feel her heart pounding wildly, frightened. "I didn't do it." She breathed. "It was an accident. The floor collapsed and the bookshelf fell."

"You're a liar." The man breathed. His dagger moved next to her neck. Ready to slice at any given moment. "Why were you here? I've never seen you before." _He doesn't know._ For a moment, Madeleine was struck by surprise. Luke hadn't told either of his sons the _whole_ story. "You aren't Jane. Or Katherine. One has blond hair, and the other red. Who are you?"

Madeleine didn't know how to reply. She had only wanted to kill Luke's oldest son. Not both. Both wasn't just murder, it was slaughter. "I'm your aunt," She whispered. "Madeleine."

A flicker of confusion crossed over the young man's face and Madeleine took her chance. She slipped out of his trap and lunged for her dagger at the other side of the room. Scooping up the dagger, she held it in the right position just as the opposing dagger slashed towards her. There was the clash of metal in the room.

* * *

The two faces were six inches from each other, each breathing heavily. One of terror, and the other of something that Madeleine couldn't tell. _Anger? Hate? Confusion? Annoyance? Wait, all of the above._ Madeleine slowly pushed Luke's son back away from her as she stood up.

"You can be hanged for murder." The man whispered. "You don't have to have a thousand witnesses. I know strings that I can pull."

Madeleine gritted her teeth and didn't reply. She slashed upward at him, forcing him to back away. Although he might of been the younger, he was a better fighter than his brother. Madeleine found herself hard-pressed to force him out into the middle of the room.

The fight became a rhythm. Madeleine's slash, Luke's son's block. Stab, dodge. Twist, deflect. Madeleine spun around, aiming for his head. She didn't really feel the dagger's slice, she just... knew. There was a pause where everything was still, and then the wave of pain came. Her legs turned to Jell-O, wobbling under her. They wouldn't support her weight.

Madeleine closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the world above her as she landed on the floor. A fresh spurt of pain hit. A boot was planted on her side, and then there was a tug. Madeleine's eyes flickered, and then opened to a growing pool of blood on the front of her dress, and on the floor. _My blood._ She realized. Madeleine tried to take a deep breath, and attempted to lift the ton iron weight that seemed to be on her chest.

She couldn't.

Luke's son stood next to her, cold brown eyes staring down. Madeleine struggled to make her mouth form words. She could see the edges of the room wavering in front of her eyes, turning into gray. _My last words._ She would of laughed if her breath hadn't been so precious. She said the first thing that popped into her head. "Tell- tell Tom that I'm going to get him b- back for ruining my old dress. I- I haven't forgotten that."

Her lungs were out of air, and it was a painful struggle to fill them up again. The dark gray crowded up around the young man's head and Madeleine couldn't see past it. She fought the slight, yet sickening smell of her own blood away. Suddenly she knew what she needed to say. No wishes, or dreams. They rarely came true. Madeleine knew that now. But- sometimes, what you need was a dream. To keep you going. "Tell Luke-"

"How do you know my Father's name?" The younger son was instantly on the alert. "I never told you."

Madeleine decided not to explain. Her time was limited. "Tell him- tell him- that he kept his promise. And- and I kept mine. That I did it for a reason. Not for revenge." The black and gray appeared to swirl around the young man's head. Madeleine tried her best not to focus on it. Her lungs labored. "He'll... he'll know what I mean- when- when you tell him."

Then the black swallowed the man up. Madeleine closed her eyes again, hoping that the black would start swirling away. But she could feel it as it got closer. All sense of what was where, dissolved away. She was falling. Falling for- eternity, in complete black. Madeleine opened her eyes again, but nothing was there. The black had conquered all. It was a thick black curtain, that left her nothing to see, but herself. Madeleine tried to push herself up, but her hands wouldn't work. Nothing was. She could feel the black creeping into her. Trying to grab onto her; take her wherever it wanted her to go. Dulling her senses till she could only, yet barely see.

She screamed. But she couldn't hear her own voice. The black was squeezing into her skull, taking over her brain, commanding it. Pain was a neighbor, that came to visit every time her lungs struggled up and down. But she could still think- until it was stolen from her. _Is this what it's like to die? I- I don't like it._

One by one, the little threads of Madeleine's mentality snapped. Till only one was left hanging. _Lillia, Grace, and Hope... Lillia-_ But suddenly a thought rammed into it. _Maybe- maybe wherever I'm going, Edward's going to be there too._ Madeleine clung to the thread for a few more moments, then it snapped, and she tumbled off into the darkness and black.

Madeleine Cahill had a long list of things she had done in her life. It mostly consisted of pinecone-throwing, and prank-playing, but she had almost never been forced to do something she didn't want to do. But one of those things- was dying.

* * *

L: _Gaw..._

M: _I know, seriously dude. Don't you think you should have more consideration for your sister..._

L: _That was a question._

M: _No. _That_ was a statement._

L: _You know what I mean..._

M: _Yeah... I do..._

L: _STOP DOING THAT!_

M: _My God! Talk about someone who doesn't care about other people's happiness!_

L: _Talk about someone who doesn't care about MY happiness!_

M: _Oh, get out here!_

L: _Touchy, touchy... I'm going... I'm going... Edward is watching hockey anyway..._

M: Brothers...

* * *

**Well, what do you think? Crappy, or not crappy?**

**Technically that's the wrong thing to say, since I'm going to say it's not awesome anyway. It's good. (some of my personal best) But not amazing/awesome.**

**Question; Ditto above. Do you think Madeleine made the right decision? Even with Lillia, Grace and Hope?**


	37. Dead to Alive

**I have the suspicious feeling that some people accidentally missed Chapter Thirty-two. GO READ NOW!**

**I am counting the days till Vespers Rising... Like that actually needs saying...**

**Italic parts are 100% me! *jumps with joy* I'm getting somewhere!**

**Dedication to; Alexandra, Syberian Question, and ... *frowns* I really can't dedicate it to anyone else except Cendi... Thanks Cendi!**

**Now, read.**

* * *

M: _Do you feel like you want to clobber Edward?_

L: _No. Why? Wait a second... Don't tell me... It has something to do with that pink Dell laptop he bought for you yesterday, doesn't it..._

M: YES! I HATE THAT THING!

L: _MY GOD! Don't give me that look! I'M not the one that bought it!_

M: _You're right. I have to go and break his nose _right_, NOW!_

L: _Calm down there... Do I have to go call Lu?_

M: _No._

L: _HA! Because you know he'll be over here in an instant and stop you from smashing that thing too!_

M: _Well then WHY did Edward buy it? He KNOWS I hate that stuff? He PURPOSELY bought it to INFURIATE me!_

L: _If he did that purposely he sure did a good job of it._

M: _You're pushing my buttons... Would you like that punch to be directed to YOUR nose?_

L: _Okay, okay, okay... I get your point! Let's just write and let this whole thing fly over._

M: ...

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-four;**

**Dead to Alive**

_What- Who- Where- where am I?_ Madeleine's eyes flickered open and raced around the room. They sucked her surroundings in, while another thought hit her from a different direction. _But I died._ She instantly burst out laughing. It sounded so strange. She'd died, but- but here she was. Alive as ever.

Madeleine pushed herself up off the floor. There was no pain. She glanced down at the red dress she was wearing. It was exactly like the one she had made for herself when she was twelve years old. It was larger though, and it fitted her perfectly. There was no blood on it. It was like she had never been wounded. _Did I die at all?_ Her eyes flickered around the room again.

She was in a box, or something like a box. Madeleine thought it seemed like it. There were no windows, and no doors. It was lit, but Madeleine couldn't tell how. There were no lights either. There were two eyes holes. Madeleine could peep through them, but she was rather afraid to. What if the person who had put her here was waiting? She stood up and faced the room from where the peepholes where. There was a single, brown wooden table in the upper-left hand corner, and a single chair in the corner to Madeleine's left. There were nothing in the other two corners.

_But why?_ Madeleine looked around at the walls. _Why would someone build this?_ Unless... She tried to change her thinking a little bit. Unless someone _hadn't_ put her here. Then she was... dead. _Is this where people go when they're dead? Because, this is a pretty lame place to spend eternity._

Madeleine suddenly wished she was floating. Maybe if she was a bird, or something that could fly, she could escape this- prison. She closed her eyes, thinking about how it would feel to fly. Opening her eyes, she looked down.

She was standing two feet off the ground.

Madeleine screamed, and instantly she collapsed on the floor like a stone. Laying there, she panted for a while. Scared. _Why did that happen?_ And then, being part Katherine, she could help asking; How_ did it happen?_ There was still a little tingle in her toes. Still a feeling of them being off the ground. And she hadn't been touching anything. Madeleine stood up again.

For a moment, she actually felt weighted. She had just wished to be off the ground, but... it had _happened_. She was certain of it. Madeleine took a deep breath and -not exactly wished- she almost pushed with her mind. She expected it to happen, and it did.

Madeleine looked down, and sucked in her breath. She was off the ground. She wasn't really fighting gravity, it was more like her mind. It screamed for solid land. And she landed back on her feet with a quick thump. _This, is... Amazing._

With a quick thrust, Madeleine forced herself back into the air. She hovered a few feet off the ground. She wiggled her arms, hoping to move sideways, or to get somewhere. Nothing happened. Madeleine flapped her arms. She dropped down a few inches. Madeleine dropped to the floor, disappointed. "What's the point of flying if you're not going to go anywhere?" She shot to empty space. Nobody replied, and she didn't expect anybody to. "Well?"

"It's pointless," She answered herself. "Except if you do go somewhere."

But her conversation had only gone in a circle, stating what Madeleine already knew. "Great." She pushed herself up into the air again, but she didn't stop with just two feet. Stifling her ground-centered mind, she stood on air, head nearly touching the ceiling. The black floor seemed far beneath her but she didn't let herself drop down. She let herself down a few feet- slowly. Then, like she had pushed herself up from the ground, she mentally pushed herself sideways towards the wall. She went. Relaxing, a small smile spread across Madeleine's face. Exhilaration spread through her as she pressed her hand up against the wall.

The wall was solid and firm. There was no chance she was going to be knocking it down anytime soon. Madeleine let herself drop down to the floor. Walking over to the peep holes, she looked through them.

* * *

L: _Maddie? Where do you think you're running off to?_

M: _I'm going to go crush an explanation out of Edward right now before it slips my mind._

L: HEY WAIT!_ Drat. She's gone. Well... looks like I have to wait five minutes... AH HA! Here she comes! Why the glum face?_

M: _I didn't get to sucker punch his nose in. He went and returned the laptop because- (this is quoted from him) "You were scaring me the way you looked at it." HA! If I had only..._

L: _Okay, I get the picture. Let's calm down and finish the chapter..._

_

* * *

_

_Do giants live here or something? _Around Madeleine, there was another room, large. Because of the size of the small peep holes, Madeleine could only look out at the opposite wall, but she was certain that she was next to, or even in, a wall. There were a flight of stairs built into the opposite wall. _I wonder where those lead._ But Madeleine could do nothing to satisfy her curiosity.

She sat down on the chair and pulled it up to the table. She wondered what to do. _Bored already. _Madeleine thought. _How's that for Heaven? If this is heaven. Maybe it's... some other place._ But what that other place was, Madeleine couldn't guess.

She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what Edward was doing now. Suddenly a blank picture appeared in her mind. It was as black as the walls of her cage. Madeleine quickly shook her head to get the picture out of it. Her mind cleared. And then she was looking at the table again. _What was that?_

Madeleine closed her eyes again and focused on Lillia. _What's she doing?_ Madeleine could feel her mind almost searching. Scanning the world for what she wanted. She closed her eyes tightly while wishing her brain wouldn't search so hard. And then almost a picture appeared in her mind. Not even that. She was watching them.

Lillia was laughing, cleaning the dishes -that Madeleine supposed- they had eaten off of at dinner, in a stream Madeleine had taken them to many times when they were younger. Hope was splashing around in the water, playing. Grace was sitting on the bank near her older sister. Not helping, but staring at the water, deep in thought.

Madeleine smiled. They were safe. At least for now. Luke would be closing in soon though. A slice of fear entered Madeleine's heart. _And I won't be there to protect them._

She mentally tried to zoom in on Luke. She could feel her mind searching, and then he appeared in her mind. He was bent over a desk, holding something. Madeleine forced her mind to close in on it to find out what it was. _A letter._ She looked at the date.

Ivan Cahill, June 15, In the Year of our Lord, 1520

Madeleine's mouth dropped. _Two weeks! _The portrayed video in front of her eyes disappeared. _Two weeks! Then- _She looked around the room at the thick black walls that locked her in. She had been here, all that time. This was her prison, until- until- Madeleine didn't know what to think, say, or do. She was caught here, until something happened to that potion that she had made with Luke -_with Luke_. But that was then.

Tears suddenly sprang into her eyes. She was a ghost then. That was why she could float in the air. And she would be waiting; without Edward. Edward wouldn't be here. He was gone. And she was going to spend eternity as a ghost, _without Edward_. A silent, lone tear trickled down her cheek. Madeleine hastily brushed it away. What a way to start spending eternity. _But time really doesn't matter in eternity. _Madeleine thought. _You could spend five days crying, and you'd still have five days to live to make it up. Unless the world ended. But that's different._

Pulling up the image of Luke and the letter again, she read the whole thing. Her eyes widened as she read it. Almost laughing at some parts, and almost wanting to sob at others.

* * *

L: _So what are you going to do this evening? Please, don't tell me you're going to grab Edward and fry him on a skillet..._

M: _I should... But I'm not. I'm going to go call up Dell right this minute and limit what Edward can buy. ESPECIALLY if they ever hear the words come out of his mouth; my wife, Madeleine, Maddie... Or anything. HE IS POWERLESS._

L: _Why am I wishing Lu was here?_

M: _Because Edward has nachos on the table right now._

L: _And she's gone. Geeze... Perhaps I should call Dell and tell them to cancel out everything she said... Life. No, no, no. Let me fix that. Life with_ Madeleine.

* * *

**Well? What did you think? Rather short, but I guess it's a welcome change... XD**

**Question; What is in the letter?**


	38. A Straight Throw

I am now officially assured that people are not reading my Author's Notes.

**Firstly, I am not back. I am still resigned. But since Vesper's Rising is coming out- (Amazon has first chapter exerts! I was up all night dreaming about Damien and wishing that he was just a plain nice dude... Gideon is amazing... I loved how he wrote on his arm...) and I am quite certain that people are NEVER going to believe Forgiveness once they read V's R, I will just update all the chapters I can get up before April 5th. Is that said plain enough?**

**Ashley; Who is Lu? Who is Lu. Seriously. Like I'm actually going to tell you who 'Lu' is. That is completely TRASHING the entire story, and the entire SEQUEL if I ever do it. Please, try and at least GUESS! (Hint; Luke should give you a hint. Chapter 20, and this chapter should also give you hints. At the end of the story too, you'll probably gather more...)**

**Iris; I am undoubtably flattered. One question though, what made you do that? And what chapter were you on? Because you doing that is THE ULTIMATE HONOR I can ever receive. Better than the Madrigal Awards, better than anything. Thanks so much!**

**PS- I'm sorry that I haven't reviewed 'Paint the Sky'. I've got so little time right now... I WILL do it, because I've got like- enough material for FIVE reviews running around in my head all day... I need to get rid of it... DUMP IT SOMEWHERE! I guess your story is as good as any, since it's the reason I'm so flustered in the first place... XD**

* * *

M: _No. Just- no. No Luke._

L: Madeleine...

M: _No. I won't say it again! Lysa-yuk's party? Dress code? No._

L: _It's manditory... and besides, Tom invited us. You're SO lucky that I'm even ALLOWING you go to Mr. Lysacek's party. You're INSANELY LUCKY that EDWARD is LETTING you go._

M: _I'll skip it. Or... perhaps I'll just conveniently forget to wake up at the right time..._

L: _For the last time... MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL THAT PARTY IS_ MANDITORY!

M: _What are you trying to do? Bust my eardrums up? I can hear you fine. I'm sitting next to you. And for the last time Luke Cahill, I don't want to go to a stupid dude figure skater's party, more or less wear his crazy dresses that he _designed_. Please. They look idiotically _stupid_._

L: _I'm not even going to continue arguing with you. Write Madeleine. You're the one who came up with this story, and it's not suppose to be made up of our arguments over what you're going to wear to some 'dude figure skater's' party that you _ARE_ going to. _Write_._

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-five;**

**A Straight Throw**

_A shaking hand, does nothing for a dagger throw._ Luke reminded himself as he walked into his office. _And neither does rheumatism for a body._ He settled down in the chair pulled up to the desk. _But you're 31_. He reminded himself. _You aren't suppose to be as spry as you were. Rheumatism will catch you at some point in your life._

But there was a letter from Ivan. That was good news, reason to push aside the storm that was coming, and hurting joints. He opened up the letter and started reading.

_Ivan Cahill, Paris, June 15, In the Year of our Lord, 1520_

_Dear Father, I hope that this letter finds you in good health as I am now. Sad, but in good health. I found the ingredient in Lucas' top desk drawer. The purest zinc you'll find anywhere._

_A good row of luck that'll do me._ Luke thought. _Madeleine went and destroyed the almost-finished serum four weeks ago. So much for completing it._ He continued reading.

_He's buried now. Both of them actually. But maybe I should tell that story from the beginning. You won't understand it if I told it otherwise._

_Buried?_ Luke frowned._ He has to be talking about something else. Or else- or else- _Luke couldn't think of anything good enough to threaten his son with at that moment, so he continued reading, slightly irked.

_Lucas is dead. It is my belief that he was murdered. Someone backed him under a bookshelf and then broke the floor under it so it would fall on top of him. I am saying 'someone', because although I saw the murderer, I do not know who he is. Perhaps I should not say that either. It was a woman. (I see no reason why she would of done such a deed, but being a woman I am assured of that.)_

_What happened was this; I was going to see Lucas. To take the ingredient and relay it to you, as instructed. But I found him dead, under the bookshelf with the woman in the room. It seems like she attempted to stab him with a dagger, but it was knocked out of her hand. Then she killed him with the bookshelf. I do have to admit, it was a touch of genius to do that. But I don't see why she did what she did. I don't think Lucas, or I (as I've said) have ever seen her before in our lives._

_Lucas was already dead when I had gotten there. The bookshelf was carved out of oak. He was killed instantly. I turned on her, pulling my own dagger, and she claimed that she hadn't done anything. It was a lie, and I told her so. She was standing right in the room when the deed was done! How could she not of done it? Either way, she slipped out of my grasp, and lunged across the room._

_That's another thing to explain. She had her black hair down, but with it up, she could of easily passed for a boy as she was wearing breeches and a tunic under her dress. There are horrible ideas going on in women's heads these days Father. Scandalous._

_We fought for, what I think, about ten minutes. She was a good fighter, I'll give her that. Lucas must of been hard-pressed to keep her back. She was tired though, and it didn't take long for me to give her a fatal stab._

_Her final words were to tell you she had kept her promise, and you had kept yours. I have no idea what she means, but she said that you'd understand. And that she did it for a reason, not revenge._

_I'll be staying in Paris till I get your next letter, but after that, I was hoping to go out more into the Roman Empire and see what there was to see._

_Your ever-dutiful son,_

_Ivan_

Luke stared at the letter. _So she's... dead._ He blinked, the information registering itself in his mind. _She's... Dead. She'll never be able to bother me again._ A slow smile spread slightly across his face, and then it faded. What was having no one to bother you if you had no one to pester back? It was worthless. Even if 'pestering' meant wounds, stabs, and murder.

Luke crumpled up the letter and threw it at his wastebasket sitting by his desk. It missed, and the piece of paper went rolling into the corner of the room. Luke buried his head in his hands. He couldn't explain it. He had wanted her dead. He had spent over half of his life planning, and plotting for this day. He had imagined that he'd be celebrating. But- he wasn't. It almost felt like a hole, where someone was suppose to be. Like the empty hole Lucas had always filled -had grown larger.

_Why?_

Luke pushed back his chair and opened one of the drawers to his desk. There was a dagger lying inside on top of a stack of papers. The handle was made of ivory, and it had an engraved, black M. For the first time in four years, Luke picked it up. He held it cautiously, almost like it would prick him. It had been a reminder to him, but not like Madeleine had wanted. It was a reminder to him, that the murderer of his parents was still roaming about. Free. But now she wasn't. She was dead. Just like them.

A tug-a-war rope with a knot in the middle, lodged tightly in Luke's stomach. He could feel one side pulling in a direction that he had never gone, and the other, urging him to grab his own dagger and go finish off the job. He had always chosen the second choice, no matter what. And he had always completed it. But this was different. He found himself shying away from the second choice, and leaning towards the first.

"She will not be missed." He growled softly to himself, then slammed his fist on the table. Then he buried his head in his hands. _You miss her already._ His brain argued sub-consciously back. _And this time, it really was your fault._

That did him in. Luke instantly felt submerged in guilt. _I couldn't save Lucas._ Pushing back his chair, Luke glanced at the crumpled piece of paper in the corner. _And- I didn't even try to save The Mur-_ For the first time, he checked himself. _Madeleine_. _She got what was coming to her._ He fought back. But his conscience was becoming more, and more prominent. It wasn't backing down. _You sent her to her death!_

_She betrayed us all!_

_You would of killed her while she was unconscious!_

_She murdered our parents!_

_You didn't care anything about her! You broke her heart!_

And- she still would of forgiven.

Luke remembered the tortured look in Madeleine's eyes four years ago when she had come to destroy the serum. The way she had pleaded with him not to make it again. She hadn't wanted to break it. She hadn't wanted to come back. Luke frowned, then dug through the drawer where the dagger had been kept. He finally came up with a sheet of paper. It was old, and worn, and looked as though it had been tossed around, and around without ever stopping, but the words, although smeared, could still be read.

First time; warning,

Second time; threat,

Third time; you lose something you hold dear.

Luke counted. The first time had been four years ago. The second time; two years. And the third- _Now._ Everything fit together. Madeleine had been right. She hadn't hesitated to carry out the threat. But she had died doing it. _She kept her promise._ Luke remembered his son's letter; Madeleine's last words. _But what was mine?_

Picking up the dagger, Luke held it for a minute, gently fingering the M. _Whatever happened to my dagger like this?_ And then memories flooded back. _Anger... Fear... The knife in Madeleine's hands... Watching her run... Having Thomas follow her._ Luke mildly wondered if his son had found his old dagger on Madeleine. But probably not. She wasn't stupid enough to carry it with her everywhere. Besides, it would just be an inconvenience.

_She probably left it where she lived with the children. Wherever that is._ Luke's eyes wandered out the window._ The children._ Random family-oriented thoughts wandered through his mind. They were things he'd never thought about, and certainly never thought about doing. But Madeleine had still been his sister. And the children would still be his nieces.

Finally he stood grudgingly to his feet. Leaning over, he picked up the crumpled piece of paper from where it lay on the floor, and smoothed it out. _Not for Madeleine,_ He thought to himself. _For Lucas. That's what he would of wanted._

* * *

M: _Jerk... And that also refers to that dumb party..._

L: _If only your pen could move as fast as your mouth did, the world would be a marvelous place..._

M: _Zip it, party-crasher..._

* * *

Madeleine watched, horrified, as Luke saddled up his horse and stuffed her dagger and his son's letter in the saddle bags. Her mind started to throb and her eyes welled with tears. Madeleine's throat cut off her air and her lungs pumped quickly up and down, taking shallow breaths to fulfil her needs. Madeleine didn't care. She closed her eyes, but the video wasn't playing in front of her, it was in her mind. She watched as Luke rode off into the woods.

He would kill them.

She was sure of that. Deathly certain. And she wasn't there to help them, to warn them, or to save them. There was nothing she could do. Madeleine almost wished she was tied against a tree. If she was tied, she could roar, and struggle. Do _something_. _Anything_. But she was a ghost locked away in a dark, black, cold room. She could stop watching anytime she chose. She knew that. But it was harder not to watch, and not know what had happened, than to watch the three of them be killed.

A single tear trickled down Madeleine's cheek.

* * *

M: _Jerk..._

L: _Flame-thrower..._

M: _Idiot..._

L: _Cootie-carrier..._

M: _Dweeb..._

L: _Barf-enducer... Are you noticing a pattern here for some reason I just 'don't' know of?_

M: _Moron... Sure?_

L: _21 Century dress-hater... I'm pretty sure I am..._

M: _Retard... Prove it, snot-breath..._

L: _Half-wit... You're calling me one-word names, I'm calling you anything disgusting I can think of..._

M: _Imbecile... That's partly true..._

L: _John-head..._

M: _TOO FAR, JERKISH, IDIOTIC, DWEEB! YOU'RE DEAD! John-head... And I am NOT going to that party!_

_*_Room is left empty_*_

* * *

**Mr. Lysacek; Please, I highly doubt that you're reading this, as I'm quite assured that you have better things to do, but I ABSOLUTELY ADORE you as a figure skater, and your Olympic gold medal is dazzling. Please, whatever was said in the story NEVER related to you, and was all out of the mouth of Madeleine Cahill, not me. And... by the way, how in the world could I possibly own you?**

**Question; OMGOMGOMGOMG! What does Luke do? *stares languidly at the screen and wonders why in the sane world she puts her readers through so much torture***

**One thing though, Iris Cornila Jade wrote a cut-off of Forgiveness. *glowers* using the italic parts and everything. I was fuming for about three hours, then realized that it was relitively well-written, something that lacks in the archive nowadays, and was on a different plotline than mine went. So- she's off the hook. Her story is named 'Paint the Sky', and I highly recommend you to read it. Very good... And includes Gideon and Olivia, which I killed...**

**And besides that, I COMPLETELY EDITED CHAPTER ONE of Forgiveness. I would appreciate it if you went back and read it, just because it's SO much better now.**


	39. Mirrors

**PTPTPTPTPTPTPT! YOU'RE BACK! *celebrates***

**There's a few good questions here that I need to answer. Then we can begin.**

**PT; I love you. You're the only person who every BOTHERS to answer my questions. And you have good notices by the way. I would answer them all here, but it would be way too long, and would take up too much space.**

**Iris; Just relax. You'll get over it soon enough. You're a great author, and I'm desperately trying to get people to review your story, by the way...**

**Spider Queen; Okay. Yes, I did. People are missing chapters. I HAVE stated that. It was when Madeleine left to murder Ivan.**

**CottonCandy; Madeleine IS born after the fire, I just don't like that theory, so I wrote my own. Fanfiction.**

**Ashleybett; YE- NO! Wait, hold a second. If you mean Lucas, as Luke's son. You're wrong. If you mean Lucas, as in- BEAN SPILL! I can't tell you. You still have to guess if you meant the first choice.**

**Sunshine; It's SO GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK! I love it when you and PT review!**

**Now, onto the story.**

* * *

L: _You're dead Madeleine Cahill._

M: _Literally, or just theoretically speaking? I'm confused._

L: _Don't- just don't even start..._

M: _Dang, dude! It's not my fault I didn't wake up in time!_

L: _Why am I getting the feeling that YOU'RE _LYING?

M: _I don't know. Don't look at me._

L: MADELEINE ELIZABET-

M: _You know, I was just mentioning to Edward; I think my name is going to be worn out soon by all this use from him, you and Katherine._

L: _WHY THE HELL ARE YOU JUST _THINKING _THAT? Do you realized how exhaused I am after I scream your full name after you?_

M: _After me... I like that! You're screaming it 'after me' because I'm already leaving..._

L: _Katherine was about to murder you after you wrecked her slumber party, and I don't know HOW Edward even puts up with all your crap. And then Tom invited you to Even's place. WHY? WHY PUT ME THOUGH THIS TORTURE! Suicide would be a good option right now..._

M: _Don't even think about it buster... Besides, I'm not mean to Ed._

L:_ Oh, _thanks. _Is that suppose to make me feel better? Because it's _not_ working._

M: _No, it wasn't technically, but I guess I could whip up some chedder cheese and nachos if you wanted..._

L: _You're such a manipulator... And you're still dead after I finish those nachos..._

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-six;**

**Mirrors**

Luke stopped his horse next to a tree. He leaned against the large oak's trunk, and the horse shifted it's weight to accommodate it's rider. Luke looked at the happy view in the clearing before him. The largest child was wearing a French style dress, and Luke noticed it had been re-hemmed many times at the edges. The girl's back was to him, so he was unable to see what the color of her eyes were, but her hair was thick, wavy and jet black. There was another girl in the clearing. She looked like a mix between the oldest and the youngest. She was watching her elder sister bend watchfully over a cooking fire. Then he saw her blue eyes sparkle, and she burst out with an exclamation. The older sister looked at her with disdain.

Then the youngest walked over and plopped down on her knees beside her two sisters. A small smile twitched at Luke's lips. She was wearing a tunic and breeches. Madeleine apparently, had passed on her fun-loving genes as well as her looks. Then a frown folded Luke's eyebrows down. The littlest one didn't look anything like Madeleine. The girl had golden blond hair that cascaded half-way down her back, and her eyes were a liquid, watery blue. She looked- different from the others. Alien. There was suddenly a quick twitch in his mind though. _Those eyes..._ Luke flipped through memories, then remembered. Madeleine's husband had had those eyes; a piercing blue.

_Ignore her._ Luke reached into his saddlebag and pulled out the letter and knife. He couldn't believe he was going to do this. It was- impossible. _Just once._ Luke reminded himself, then urged his horse forward a few more steps, moving out of the shadows.

Luke instantly felt a blue gaze fall on him. The little girl looked up at her eldest sister and tugged gently at her skirt. The older girl twisted her head down rather than turn and face the girl. "What is it Hope?"

"There's a letter for you, like Mother gets."

Luke nearly laughed, and he had to work hard to hide his smile. That would explain the reason all Katherine and Jane's letters had been two weeks late for the past six years. _Never stops her when something gets in her way._ And then an notion came to him. He was just a letter-deliverer. Doing something that he didn't know what to do, and the girls did. _Great._

The oldest girl looked up and wiped her hands on her apron. Luke noticed that it was too big for her, and nearly touched the ground. It must of been Madeleine's. Scrolling from down, to up, Luke zeroed in on her face. He almost dropped the dagger. It was like looking at Madeleine all over again- younger. It was her face, her eyes, her hair, everything. There was even a red ribbon tied into the girl's hair. But- something wasn't right. The ribbon was too long. It had been tied with a normal bow, not actually woven into the girl's hair so it wouldn't fall. Even if it had been tied right, it would have been too big anyway. It was Madeleine's ribbon. _He never said anything about the woman having a ribbon in her hair._ Luke tried to turn his thoughts away from the girl's appearance and back to what he had come to do.

_Forget the mission. The kids are fine. Now get out of here._ Spinning his horse around, Luke reached as low as he could, and placed the letter on the oak's trunk. He slammed Madeleine's dagger on top to hold it there. Spurring his horse, Luke cantered away back into the woods. He continued riding that way for a few moments, then slowly straightened up and pulled his horse to a stop. He needed to know what happened to the children.

_No, you don't._ He almost jerked his horse's head back towards town, but he slowly relented to the tugging of his conscience. He plodded back towards the clearing and stopped in the shadows where he could see everything, but not be seen.

The oldest girl had stepped up to the tree with the other two crowding around her. She pulled out the dagger and grabbed the letter quickly before it fell. She let the dagger fall carelessly to the ground, unheeded.

"What does it say?" Luke watched as the little girl named Hope tugged at the big girl's skirt anxiously. "Who sent it Lillia? Was it Mother?"

Lillia frowned slightly while her eyes flickered over the first lines of writing. "It's not from Mother, it's from someone named Ivan."

"To us?" The middle-sized girl stood on her tip-toes to try and get a peek at the writing.

"No, Grace. Stop pulling on my arm! I can't read!" Lillia shook Grace's hand off her arm. Luke noticed her bending over the paper more, trying to absorb as much as she could in as little time as possible. He saw her mouth start to part, and eyes widen in horror; then she flung the letter to the ground and stomped on it. "It's not true!" She screamed into the woods.

For some reason, Luke felt like she was trying her best to yell at him, even though he was hidden well. He stayed motionless on his horse, watching.

"What isn't true?" Grace scooped up the letter quickly and began reading it. Luke almost smiled again as she sped-read, although he almost felt uncertainty at Lillia. Madeleine never would of acted like she had. Not in anger.

"What's going on?" Hope tugged at Lillia's skirt, and the older girl's voice choked. Luke watched a tear trickle down her cheek. Grace was reading the letter over again, large blue tears running out of her eyes. The uncertainty Luke had felt for both Lillia and Grace, turned to disgust. Madeleine didn't cry. Madeleine had never cried. She was strong, and she bore everything she had to bear with humor, love, patience, and strength. Luke's mouth twitched. And these were her children? Little cry-babies that sobbed at their Mother's passing? He nearly turned his horse around, but he didn't. He hadn't seen what Hope would do.

"What's going on?" Hope stamped her foot as tears began pouring down Lillia's cheeks.

"Mother- s-she's- not c-coming back."

Hope stared.

"She- she was killed in Paris. Four weeks after she left. She's not coming back Hope."

Since she was facing him, Luke could clearly see the little girl's face. She was horrified. _It's not just that, more like- afraid, scared. Lonely?_ The little girl backed up with wide eyes, then she knelt down and picked up Madeleine's dagger that Lillia had thrown down. She fingered the M, and she didn't say anything.

For all her opposing looks, Luke was drawn to her. Hope wasn't like the others, she was... different. Lillia turned away from her youngest sister to Grace and hugged her tight. The two girls stayed like that, sobbing on each others shoulders. Luke was almost nauseated.

But little Hope picked up the letter that Grace had dropped. She wandered over to the other side of the clearing and sat down, almost buried in the enormous roots of another oak tree. She wasn't crying, as far as Luke could see. She wanted to know the truth. If her sobbing sisters weren't just lying. To some extent, Luke respected that. Turning his horse around, he rode in a circular direction around the clearing, ending up just behind the tree Hope was sitting down under.

He could see her reading slowly, sounding out each word as she read them. He saw her breath grow shallow, and eyes wide, but until the letter was done, she didn't stop reading. Then she gently set it down on her lap and picked up Madeleine's dagger. She traced everything from the M, to the blade. Luke could see her lip trembling like an aspen tree in the wind.

But she didn't cry.

She suffered.

Luke could see the pain, how she wanted to sob exactly like her sisters. But something held her back, something wouldn't let her. She couldn't cry. She wasn't able to. In her own way, she suffered far more than Grace and Lillia. Luke stared at the girl for a few moments, then, her looks forgotten, dismounted and walked up to the oak.

He hesitated for a few minutes, then sat down and leaned up against the tree with the girl. She didn't bother to look, but grabbed him and buried her head in his tunic. Luke almost pushed her away, but he didn't. Hope was sobbing, and her eyes were red, but there were no tears. She was more like the late Madeleine than any of them. She didn't get looks, but she got personality. Luke paused, then tenderly wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her tight.

Hope didn't care that she was in the arms of a murderer. She had someone there to hold on to her.

And that was all that mattered.

* * *

M: _Ha._

L: _Ha? Is that all you have to say?_

M: _Alright. Ha, ha._

L: _Oh, brother..._

M: _I'm not a brother, I'm a sister. I don't even know why people came up with that stupid phrase..._

L: _Who cares... What were you 'ha, ha'-ing at anyway?_

M: _You. The rhumatistic 31 year old._

L: _THAT'S IT! I'm not speaking to you again._

M: _Not even to congradulate me on my marvelous nachos?_

L: _..._

* * *

_Thirty Minutes Later;_

If Luke had known that he'd be holding a six year old for thirty minutes, he would never have come. Girls were... weird. Beyond boy understanding. He remembered the one time he had seen Madeleine cry. How she had clung to him like the world was going to end. A flicker of guilt rose up, but Luke quickly squashed it. A murderer deserved to die.

_You're a murderer too._ His conscience pointed out, defying him. Luke pushed it away, and tried doubly hard not to think about such things.

Then suddenly Hope was yanked away from him. Luke pushed himself lightly to his feet; or as lightly as he was able. Sitting on the ground had done nothing for his rheumatism. He found himself looking into Lillia's accusing, glass-green, red-rimed eyes. "Why are you here?"

Lillia's voice was soft, but so threatening that Luke had to wonder if Madeleine had played a part in it. He said the only excuse he could think up at the moment. "Three is an odd number."

"And you thought you could make it four?" Lillia suddenly took a step towards him, eyes flashing fire.

Luke felt pinned in place, exactly like Madeleine had always made him feel like. _By a twelve year old. Get real Luke._ But that didn't change a thing. He was still caught.

Lillia stood tall, hugging Hope to her with one arm, and the other hanging limp at her side. Then her eyes narrowed, and her fist clenched. "That was your letter," She breathed. "It was mailed to you, and you took it here, just to stick it in our faces." Luke could see Lillia's jaw muscles work, desperately trying to hold in her anger. "I'll bet you sent him to murder her. It was a trap!"

Luke could feel his own temper rising to match hers. He bottled it. "That's not true."

"Yes it is." Lillia breathed. Luke scrambled, trying to hold his rage back and not clobber the girl. "I'm _glad_ she killed your son. You deserve it. And if you're the person who I think you are, I wish your other son dies on the way to Rome!"

Luke's eyes flashed. "You little arrogant-"

"You can call me all the names you please, but that can't change what you did to my parents- Luke Cahill! If you really cared for Grace and Hope and I, did you mean to come back? Or is it a trick?"

Luke swallowed his rage for a moment, glaring at her, then spun around on his heel, mounted his horse and yanked his head in the direction of town. Nobody called him back, but the question smacked him in the face, taunting him. He turned around in his saddle. "I did it," He breathed. "Because I knew your Mother when she wasn't a murderer. That's why. If you wanted to live the rest of your life hoping she'd come back, then I'm sorry I ever tried to help."

Lillia stared as he started riding away. Then her fingers reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial with the piece of paper wrapped around it. She had memorized everything on the paper, but there was no label on the vial. She had no idea what it did. She glanced once more at Luke's retreating back. "Wait!"

Luke stopped.

Letting go of Hope, Lillia ran towards him, holding the vial up with the list. "What is this then?" She swallowed hard. From her Mother's description of her uncle, Lillia almost expected a dagger to be thrust into her any moment. "What's it for?"

Luke reached down and took the vial. With care, he slipped the paper off of it, and then held it up to a few rays of light shining through the forest trees. Then memories flashed back. He had done the same thing with Madeleine when they were younger. She had been just Lillia's age, and she had looked exactly like her. _She kept the potion all this time!_ And what it was suppose to do smacked Luke in the face. Lillia and Grace and Hope didn't have to lose their Mother. They could have her back, just with a flick of the wrist. _But it's not just for Madeleine, it's for Tom, and Katherine, and Jane and me. If I smash it now..._

Luke looked into Lillia's eyes. He could see the nervousness. But she was trusting him. Madeleine must of given her full responsibility for the vial. And if he broke that... _If I broke it, then none of us will have a chance to..._ Luke didn't really want to think what. He didn't want to help someone who he couldn't understand. _Yet..._

He looked back, deep into Lillia's eyes. They had a mirror there, showing a reflection of himself. He could see how much she was afraid of him. How little she trusted him. But how much she wished that it would all be one big dream. Madeleine would still be alive, and her Father, and she could be a child again without the responsibility of the world on her shoulders.

Luke looked down at the vial again in his hand. It had never stopped glowing it's continuous purple in all the years of it's making. He could give Lillia all she hoped for. But for some reason, he knew that wasn't what Madeleine wanted. She wanted it safe.

"The North is all empty land." Luke tried to change the subject the best he could. But as he handed down the vial to the twelve year old, he felt the need to say _something_. "Protect this with your life Lillia."

"But-"

"Your Mother would of wanted it that way."

Before Lillia could say another word, Luke dug his heels into his horse's sides and galloped away.

* * *

M: _I always did think that you were a little rude to Lillia there..._

L: _..._

M: _Oh, stop it! Now you're just being stupid._

L: _..._

M: _Come on, I didn't mean it that way. Really. But it is true..._

L: _..._

M: _Please? I have brownies in the oven, by the way..._

L: _I hate your bribes..._

M: _Phew. I was starting to get worried there. Unfortunately though, I already promised half of them to Ed for not waking me up in the morning._

L: _WHAT?_

M: _Did I... say that?_

L: _You're _so_ dead now, Madeleine... You better get those brownies quick, and Edward's going to have to miss out. Unless, that is... he wants a dead wife on his hands..._

M: _Oh, ho! So you're threatening me now!_

L: _Yes. Get the brownies and hand them over. Nachos go on the side. _Now_._

* * *

**I honestly enjoyed writing Luke and Madeleine there. They **_**were **_**funny, and Madeleine honestly would NEVER wear Evan Lysacek's dresses to his party. The idea came to me and it was too good to pass up. Alexandra gets 25% credit in the italics this time though, because it was her idea for Madeleine not being OK with the dress code in the 21st century. Thanks Alex.**

**Evan; I've got nothing against your brand line of clothing. It's just that- Madeleine doesn't like it. I apologize for her as she was unable to be here right now. XD**

**Question; Who 'vaguely' understands why I named this chapter 'Mirrors'? I'm curious since I didn't really emphasis on what I wanted in this chapter, yet still managed to mention the reason I named it this/that. Who respects Luke for his choice? Who loves the italics?**


	40. Four Hundred Years of Boring

**I'M BA-A-CK!**

**For good this time. Please, go read my profile. Like- RIGHT AFTER you're done with my insanely long author's note and insanely short chapter. If you haven't noticed yet, I've had a lot to say since I've been off for so long.**

**VESPERS RISING WAS UTTER COMPLETE AWESOMENESS THAT CANNOT BE CONTAINED IN ANY CONTAINER, AND IS RUINING MY MIND WITH SO MUCH UN-CONTAINABLE AWESOMNESS!**

**How was that for discriptive? And who will join me for a murder campain of Damien Vesper's ghost? We gather tonight, strike tomorrow, and hide for the rest of our lives.**

**Who's with me?**

**DIE DAMIEN! MAY YOU BE CURSED WILL ALL OF THE DARKNESS IN THE WORLD FOR KILLING GIDEON AND OLIVIA! MAY ROCKS AND BOULDERS FALL ON YOUR HEAD AND CRUSH YOU WITH ALL THE WEIGHT OF THE PLANETS! MAY THE UNIVERSE SCORN YOU AND ALL YOUR DECENDANTS **_**FOREVER**_**!**

**Glad I got that off my chest. (By the way, if you're interested, on The Story Factory on the Madrigals Forum, Rage, Iris and I are going on a crusade to murder Damien Vesper. Everybody else needs to write how our crusade will work out! It'll be fun! Trust me!)**

**Another thing I want to know NOW.**

**WHY **_**ON EARTH**_** WAS I NOMINATED FOR THE MADRIGAL AWARDS? HAVEN'T I **_**YELLED**_** AND **_**YELLED**_** AND **_**SCREAMED**_** MY **_**LUNGS**_** OUT TELLING YOU, !**_**DO**_**! !**_**NOT**_**! !DO! !**_**THAT**_**!**

**Apparently nobody listened. *growls* Whoever nominated me BETTER WATCH OUT!**

**Thanks though. :P**

**Sunshine; Sunshine. Wow. You're HERE! YOU'RE HERE! YOU'RE HERE! YOU'RE HERE! *die from over-load of happiness***

**Madrigal in Training; Hohohohow could you even SUGGEST that? That is HORRIBLE! That is a DISGRACFUL idea! Jo, actually, is writing a crack!ship on that, and I'm betaing it, but FORGIVENESS BEING A LUKE/MADDIE FIC? ARE YOU **_**INSANE**_**? How could that possibly HAPPEN?**

**So in other words, no. Your idea will not, and will never happen in Forgiveness, Termination, or Coming Full Circle. Madeleine has Edward for goshness' sake. How in the world could anything ELSE happen?**

**HopeRising; No, you didn't sound like a fangirl. Your review was funny though, and I thank you for it. I also thank you for the encouragement you gave me. January is a while back!**

**Kckqp; How **_**did**_** you get that username? Well really? An epic chapter? I would think epic is more along the line of The Fellowship of the Ring movie, and Vespers Rising, and- well you get the picture. But I thank you that you think so. I'm honored! And NO, THE STORY HASN'T ENDED THERE! Gee, people!**

**I WILL PUT 'THE END' SO YOU **_**KNOW**_** IT IS THE END!**

**Sorry Kck, but that's like- the FIFTH time I've been asked that, and I've just been getting annoyed. Besides, I think I've stated that- what? Five times before?**

**Spider Queen; O.O.P.S. Well, I really don't know how to start apologizing. I mean, the first reaction I thought, was to fall down at your feet and BEG for utter forgiveness, because I would hate being insulted like I insulted you. Then I thought of crowning you 'queen of Forgiveness reviews' but that just sounded lame, and I really don't know how I can queen you for that. So I guess I'll just say 'I'm sorry' and go with that. Well, I'm sorry.**

**Ashley; Yes, you're right then. XD**

**This time, I'll answer questions, not necessarily the question-asker...**

**Is Forgiveness a Luke/Maddie fic? - **_**NO**_**! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO **_**NO**_**! I cannot stress that enough. L/M is HORRIBLE and although I think Jo's fic will be funny, there is no WAY Forgiveness will EVER go on that line. Edward is enough. Luke is just- **_**BLEGH**_**!**

**Why did you change your name? - Ehh. I felt like it. And I changed it back because not many people could spell Malukajato (Madrigals, Lucians, Ekaterinians, Janus, Tomas) for some reason. So I'm Lapulta once more.**

**Are the Cahills immortal? - No, sadly. I would LOVE for Rick to put that in there, and I can't IMAGINE a world without the founders, but no. They're sadly not immortal. In the regular 39 Clues books maybe. I HOPE! I **_**HOPE**_**! I **_**HOPE**_**! But not in my story.**

**Did Madeleine even die? - Yes. She is dead. MUHAHAHA!**

**Why is Madeleine in a box? Was it because she murdered someone? - No, to answer that second question. Madeleine is not in the box because she has murdered a person. I am re-writing Forgiveness, so whenever I (after long last) get to edit those parts with the vial in it, I shall do it, and perhaps that will clear a few things up. For now... Madeleine is in the box because she created the vial that was mentioned at the beginning of the story. Remember the vial that Luke held up to the sunlight in the first sentence? (Of course you don't... Dumb me... XP) That was the vial. In the vial (this is not mentioned in the now-edited part apparently I need to re-edit the already edited sections. *groans*) are sections of Madeleine's, Luke's, Tom's- etc. etc. etc. You get the picture. Their DNA is tied to the vial, so she is in the box because the vial has not been broken, and her DNA is tied to it.**

**Hey, Ekats in the audience! Tell me if that's like- even possible...**

**Is Edward with Madeleine? - Ooo! No. Madeleine didn't even KNOW Edward when she created the vial with Luke, so it all depends on where you want to take it. But Edward's DNA is NOT connected to the first vial. Perhaps something happened that I didn't mention in the story. That leaves the question. Did Edward really die? MUHAHAHAHA! *feels evil***

**Why was the last chapter named 'Mirrors'? - The answerer got it right. Ah... My brilliant readers... Thank you!**

* * *

_Hello there world. Yes, it's me. Madeleine Cahill. Be happy that you've only got one person to talk to, because in the next chapters (if Edward doesn't ruin that website I spent _weeks_ working on,) you're going to have to listen to Luke, (I know, I know, trust me. He ate me out of corn chips.) Katherine, (Text-talk extrordinare. If only I could understand...) Thomas, (No comments. He's been hiking lately, so I haven't seen him.) Jane, (I'm hoping she doesn't doodle on the computer screen.) and thank GOD Edward isn't included until... later. That poor website's chat room is going to be more crowded than it should be._

_What pain for me._

_The thing is, I set up a website where all of us can chat. We'll chat before, making the italic parts, and then write. The thing is, I think - being the Cahills that we are, we'll get carried away. So the 'italic parts' or 'chat-room with delenquients parts' (as they'll probably be called now...) will be longer than they usually are, but fortunately, I'll try and cut them short. Oh well, enjoy..._

_-MC (NOBODY ELSE THIS TIME! MUHUHAHAHA!)_

* * *

_1979;_

**Chapter Thirty-seven;**

**Four Hundred Years of Boring**

_Bor-ring._ Madeleine zipped back to her world of black. Sure enough, nothing had changed in the room. Except, perhaps, - if you wanted to call it change - the chair had been exquisitely carved, along with the table. Bits of wood, screws and iron were spread out at messy intervals. There was a 'something' center piece, with exposed springs that obviously wasn't finished yet.

Madeleine had learned, that although she wasn't able to get out of the room, she could instantly think-up and use, anything that had been made by her, or her branch. The list was getting quite long, and she hadn't used all the things she could have. But then she didn't have any need for a submarine bubble.

As a ghost, she didn't have to eat, and she didn't have to sleep. But without those, it made the day stretch out longer. She had watched the world grow and change, build and expand. Just listening to all the people speak different languages, Madeleine herself had learned English, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Egyptian and had kept her Spanish and French in tune. Even with all the things she was learning, she was almost constantly bored with far too much time to ponder. She would sometimes wonder if Katherine ever put a TV into her own black room. _Now that._ Madeleine sat back in her chair and stared, one hand on her chin, at the unfinished center piece. _Would be awesome. But I'll bet it wouldn't get any reception. That's too-_

"You're crazy!"

A wild explanation shot through the air, piecing the shell Madeleine had put up around herself. _Tom again._ Reaching for the center piece, she pulled it to her and began to fiddle with the screws. One was wound too tight.

"Yeah, so says the-"

"Will you guys just shut up for once?"

The insults carried on, and Madeleine blocked them out. She had gotten use to the routine. Usually a question was asked by one person. The other gave a sarcastic reply. Then the first person snapped back. And an argument was kindled. Sometimes they could last for days. The longest had lasted a week, and none of the four siblings had spoken to the other for a month.

Madeleine had never said anything to her siblings, although sometimes she was sorely tempted to. They didn't know she was there, but she was constantly reminded of them. _Same room, same people, same things, for four hundred years._ Madeleine loosened a screw. _How can you get any lower?_

"Hey guys, check it out."

It was Luke. Madeleine's ears perked up, then she got out of her chair and stepped over to the peep-holes. Luke didn't say anything that often. But when he did, it was usually a good source of entertainment.

"Check what out?"

_Katherine._ Madeleine strained her ears to not be left out of the conversation.

"Where Madeleine's old house use to be. They're going to put apartment complexes on top of the lot. They're tearing down the forest too."

For once, there was no argument. Her other three siblings were strangely quiet. Madeleine's eyes widened. _Apartments? But Edward-_ She quickly closed her eyes and zoomed in to where her house was. Or had been.

* * *

_I don't think there's anything that needs saying here..._

_Have a good day, free of meddling Cahills; such as Jane, who considers spying and eavesdropping her personal achievements in life..._

_-MC_

* * *

**This chapter was rather short, but the italic parts are true. Next time, it's going to be Luke, Tom, Katherine, AND Jane along with Maddie in a Chatroom on the Internet.**

**And by the way, Please notice the 400 year time-jump. I just thought I'd bring that up because... I didn't really know... It'd be best to make sure...**

**Question; Do you understand what has happened in the past three-ish - four chapters? If not, review or PM me with your question. Did you enjoy an ACTUALLY SHORT CHAPTER FOR ONCE? HUH? Or was it **_**too**_** short... :P**

**Now, as a reminder, whoever is reading this- NEEDS TO GO READ MY PROFILE! If you can't do it now, then you MUST do it later. This is not a request-**

**THIS IS AN ORDER!**

**And I just don't 'order'. When I order, I mean; "GO DO IT NOW!"**

**(Or 'later', technically, if you just **_**'can't' **_**do it now.)**


	41. Newscasts, Bones, and Carbon Dating

**I have no clue when internet started. I looked in my encyclopedia, I looked under World Wide Web too. Nothing. But then the encyclopedia was written in 1995-ish. (We got them from my Grandma.) So... Yeah. I still don't know when the internet was started. Anyway, that also stopped me from finding out when cell phones were invented. And when all the stuff that we enjoy got started. I'm honestly sitting here typing this, scared. It's scary how reliant on the internet you get to email, and PM, and all that other stuff. Especially when it helps you with your homework and getting answers you never would of thought of in a million years. Book reports, facts. The list is endless.**

**Your parents didn't have that.**

**THE HORROR! I can understand when you rode a horse to deliver news, but this- this is- It's **_**scary**_**! It's scary how insanely close scientist were to breakthrough technology and they didn't have it! Gah!**

**I'm sorry for that random yammer-on. I just needed to... yammer... on.**

* * *

**GO TO MY FORUM TO KILL DAMIEN VESPER! YOU CAN BE INCLUDED TOO! WE WILL KILL HIM! HE WILL DIE!**

* * *

**The Spider Queen-Queen; XD You know I'm going to call you that now.**

**Zany; All of your questions and assumptions will be answered in the next chapters. I didn't see one that wasn't going to be answered eventually. And yes, you're awesome. =D**

**Ashley; HAHA! And yes, I'm back. And yes, I'm glad to be back too. =D (For some reason I like =D better than XD now... I don't know why... *o*)**

**Iris; I want you to do this for me since I know that you've 'recently' - or perhaps not so recently... - have read Chapter Two. Do you remember what use to be there? I want you to go back and read it ALL again. Like- Chapter one, through Chapter three. Seriously. I know you're busy, and have trouble with all your fame because of Paint the Sky, *note sarcasm*, but I really need someone to look back and see was use to be there and what there is now.**

**Anybody else can do that too. If you **_**do**_**, do it, I thank you very much, and appreciate your time.**

**THANKS!**

**On with the story!**

* * *

_*Not L. Skywalker has logged on* *Mountain Obsessed has logged on*_

NS: This place is empty... Maddie said that we were to come on at nine exactly... Well, I'm here...

MO: Ditto, Dude...

NS: GAH! I thought you were suppose to be in NEPAL!

MO: I am. The internet spans continents, dude...

NS: Stop calling me 'dude'. There ought to be a motto; 'dude is rude'...

_*Billiancy has logged on*_

B: 'Ello...

NS: That is the stupidest username ever. Brilliancy? That's not even a word.

B: Like 'Not Mr. Skywalker' is any better. *rolls eyes in disgust*

NS: People could get confused!

MO: I think what she's saying, is that you don't even have the same last name. People obviously know you're not the same person.

NS: *is annoyed*

_*Art Freak has logged on* *Darth Cahill has logged on*_

B: EDWARD CAHILL GET OUT OF HERE! Maddie said u weren't allowed on till the Epilogue!

DC: I'm here now.

AF: Hello... Am I interrupting anything?

DC: No, well, I don't know if Katherine thinks so.

NS: Hello, Darth Wimpy.

DC: If you keep calling me that you're going to get a punch in the nose quite soon, and I'm _not kidding_.

_*Wicked Harmony has logged on*_

WH: EDWARD CAHILL GET OUT OF HERE! Now. And I'm baking brownies.

DC: *groans and rolls eyes* Fine...

_*Darth Cahill has logged off*_

NS: Hello, Maddie...

MO: Hello, Maddie...

B: Hello, Maddie...

AF: Hello, Maddie...

WH: Back to business, people. Let's write.

* * *

_1979;_

**Chapter Thirty-eight;**

**Newscasts, Bones, and Carbon Dating**

Twenty year old Arthur Trent had done some pretty interesting things in his life - including go to West Point. But being on the edge of France, and building apartment complexes was quite new. At least it could go on his résumé for Things Done;. Arthur closed his eyes. He could just see it. Bold printing- bottom of the list. His next employer would scan down and be eyeing him over. "So you built apartments in France." The papers would be set down. "Interesting..."

"Hey Artie! Watch where that CAT's going! You're going to get into a mess!"

Arthur blinked back to reality and jerked the wheel, swinging the two ton metal machine back in front of his co-worker Steve, in another CAT. "How much longer?" He screamed over his shoulder, without looking away from the road. They had only received permission to cut trees on the apartment complex stretch. Anywhere else they could be fined. A lot.

"Two miles! They said you'll know when you hit it! There's a clearing there!"

Arthur nodded his acknowledgment and continued driving.

* * *

The two men took off their hats and mopped their brow with a sweaty hand. It was fall in France, but when you worked, it still got hot. Arthur looked around the clearing that he and Steve were suppose to dig away.

There was a small hill on one side. Arthur judged they should probably get rid of that first. The trees surrounding the clearing had moss, layered on top of moss. They were old. _I wonder how old._ It was quiet in the clearing though. There was no noise, and no bustle of the town they had left behind. And it wasn't that far. _Perfect combination for apartments._

Arthur climbed up into the cab and started the CAT's engine. He drove it over to the small hill and paused for a second. It was the highest place in the clearing. Yeah, sure. He'd start here. It was just a good a place as any.

He pulled levers back and forth, and watched the metal scoop begin digging. There was one large pile of dirt deposited on the ground. Then another. _Now what?_ Arthur struggled with the CAT's controls. Strangely, it seemed like there was a giant rock underneath the dirt. He wrestled with a lever for a few more moments, and then there was an ugly crunch that came up with the shovelful of debris.

Leaping off of the CAT, Arthur peered down into the dark hole the CAT had revealed. He could see what had been the problem. There was a row of trees that had been lined up under the ground. Arthur poked his head into the dark and instantly drew back. It was too musty to breathe.

"Hey Steve! Check it out!" Arthur looked over his shoulder, and motioned to Steve who was sitting, staring at him, in his own CAT. "I hit something!"

The older man got down and walked over towards Arthur. "Gold?"

"No, it's a hole."

The two people peered down into the dark, damp hole. The two CAT's were still running as well, and the noise was loud. Hesitating for only a minute, Arthur stripped off his jacket and stepped onto one of the uncovered logs, then he jumped down.

Arthur landed on a mound of dirt. _It's a room._ He realized with the amount of light coming down from the hole he'd dug. _It was probably a cellar sometime in the early sixteen hundreds..._ The impression of the room's worth dawned on him. He had probably stumbled upon the biggest discovery of the twentieth century. _Amazing._

As his eyes adjusted, Arthur stepped forward. He slammed into a hard board. Giving a cry of pain, he doubled over. When he straightened back up, he could see more. It was a table. He could see a glowing vial in the middle of it, like it was occupying the place of honor. "Steve! Come down here."

There was a heavy thump. "I was wondering if something had eaten you up." The older man straightened up, then groped around since he couldn't see.

"Over here." Arthur stepped towards the back of the room. Was it just him, or was it a...

"That's a skeleton!" Steve yelped.

Arthur searched for something reasonable to say to his colleague. "A skeleton is just a dead person. It's not like its ghost is haunting the area."

"How do you know?" Steve shot back.

Arthur didn't say anything for a reply. "Look at this." He knelt down near the body. "It was burned. He didn't just die naturally."

"How do you know?" Steve shot back again.

"The bones are brittle," Arthur nudged a femur. Half expecting a creepy laugh to start laughing behind him at any moment. "And the bones are larger. The bones in a male are usually harder and thicker than those in a female."

Steve snorted. "You're crazy. It doesn't matter. Were they so poor they couldn't even get him a proper coffin and bury him with other dead people?"

A wry smile slid across Arthur's face as a few ways he could prove Steve wrong popped into his head. "What's over there?" Arthur stood up and turned around towards a flight of stairs he'd seen. Walking over, he picked up a piece of paper that had fallen down onto the floor.

_Make sure that the hole in the pasture fence is fixed._

"Dude... Seriously. This is old." Steve peered at papers that were tacked up on the wall. "We're talking like- sixteen hundreds. Quill pens and ink. Someone left an inkwell at the top of the stairs."

"Butcher pigs?" Arthur scrambled up the steps, trying to get to the top one. "Repair fencing. Did they have wire then?"

"Nah, must of been talking about wood. They made everything by hand."

* * *

Madeleine wished she could clobber both of the men as she watched. _Unlike you lazy louts._ She hissed under her breath.

* * *

"Yeah. I'll bet the dead dude made all these lists. Went and checked them off too. Look at this." Arthur held up three sheets of parchment that had check marks all over them. "Tell a story to Lillia, Grace, and Hope. Those were bad names for kids. Why not name them Reagan, or Madison, or... I don't know. Dorothy."

"We're talking sixteen hundreds," Steve grinned impishly back. "They liked fancy names back then. I've heard that the longer the name, the better luck the person was suppose to have."

"What do you think?" Arthur smirked. "Lady Lillia Rose Heather Vixen! Oh, to taste the nectar of thou yonder sweet lips!" He made an exaggerated kissing sound.

To be madder, Madeleine would of had to been a hornet. She could hear all her siblings laughing their heads off in the background. They were listening to the same thing. She hoped they would kill themselves, which was a vile thought, but she couldn't help it.

* * *

NS: That's like- not fair! Besides, how do you kill yourself laughing?

B: She had a right...

WH: Katie's right...

MO: I don't even think I _was _laughing. It was all Luke and Jane.

AF: Not true... Let's keep writing though.

* * *

Steve doubled over laughing while Arthur looked for the first note left. His smile instantly faded. "Steve... Steve. Listen to this. Tell Madeleine Cahill that I love her."

Steve shut up as well. "Who wrote that?"

"The dude. The dead dude. Here." Arthur handed Steve the browned parchment.

"Whoa. He said that? Then why didn't he make a million check marks like he did with the note about their kids?"

"He put a dash," Arthur shrugged.

"So he didn't love his wife as much as he loved his kids?" Steve snorted. "That's lame."

"Maybe he couldn't check it."

"Dude, did you read the writing at the bottom?"

Arthur shook his head, immediately interested.

"It's all sappy. I'm not going to read it out loud."

"Give that to me," Arthur snatched it from Steve's hand and glanced down at the paper. Sure enough, there was another line below the one that the 'dead dude' had written.

_I love you too Edward. And I'll never forget you. Promise._

_-MC_

"MC," Arthur mused. "Madeleine Cahill. Then he was probably called Edward Cahill. Do you know anybody named Cahill?"

* * *

"I know someone named Trent that ought to be slugged," Madeleine hissed, her fists clenched so tight her knuckles were white. She would of clobbered Arthur too if she wasn't confined to a 20 by 20 by 10 foot black box. Madeleine could hear Thomas laughing so hard beneath her in a different cell, that he was gasping for breath.

* * *

MO: Now that _was _me. I thought it was so funny he was faking that he didn't know who Cahills were.

WH: I agree. Arthur knew full well who he found. You know, there were a couple reasons I didn't want Edward in this chapter.

B: Ed is in the chapter tho. Even tho the part he's playing is being a dead dude... Why arn't we writing 'bout any of r deaths? That's what I want 2 no.

WH: Too confusing, and it doesn't add anything to the storyline. I mean, who wants to read about me-

NS: Don't start, Maddie, please...

WH: -being dragged to a multi-grave and dumped- HEY! That would be SO COOL if we could like- go back and see if our old-

B: EWWWWW! DON'T SAY THAT! That is like- DISGUSTING!

AF: Please don't make me gag, Mads... I hate gagging.

MO: I agree with everyone else. That is just _sick_.

WH: All my ideas - depreciated. Oh well, let's keep writing.

* * *

"Why should I know? They're peas in a pod. That's for certain though."

"They're dead," There was a wry smile from Arthur. "They were peas in a pod. Were. I wonder how Edward died though, and when."

Steve snapped his fingers. His customary reaction when an idea had hit him. "We'll call the Louvre and have the body carbon dated! That'd be simple enough! Think about it! We'll be famous! Photographers, autographs, people asking you how in the world you did it..."

* * *

"People to kick your gut." Madeleine murmured. She was having a hard time keeping her voice down.

* * *

"... Think of the money! People will pay us for that body in the museum. And the lab! It's instant money in a tube! Think about it Artie!"

"I thought about it first thing," Arthur snapped back. "And we're not doing it. This isn't something we should mess with."

Steve's mouth dropped. "But Artie! You- you- you don't realize what this means! We can charge fifty bucks a pop to let people in to see sixteen hundreds stuff! They don't have this at the museum. They don't have notes with people's initials on them. This is old! They'll probably ask 200 apiece for the notes! I can't even imagine what the body's price would be!"

"We're not doing it," Arthur pushed past Steve and walked to the bottom of the stairs. "It's wrong. When Madeleine and Edward wrote that, they didn't mean for them to be broadcast to the world. They didn't even think that this would last. Do you actually think they wrote those out so we could make money on them?"

* * *

Madeleine silently thanked her lucky stars that Arthur was there. She apologized as well for mentally slugging him.

* * *

AF: You mentally slugged him? How on earth do you _mentally_ slug a person?

WH: You just imagine that you have him up against the wall, and you're beating the crap out of him.

NS: Maddie... this was 20 odd years ago. And besides, Arthur was one of your best agents.

WH: HE INSULTED LILLIA! I'm going to give him a new name. Sir. Lord Arthur Bartholomew reigning of Suckish Names. How was that, Jane?

AF: I hope Arthur didn't invent anything like you did, Mads.

WH: Ah... Good point. Arthur, if you're reading this; GO TO-

MO: Too far, Maddie. Relax. Do I have to call Lu?

WH: Spoil everybody's fun... And Lu's in China, probably eating giant shrimp and rice right now. There's no way he'd make it to here in time to chew me out.

NS: So you think, Madeleine...

WH: Fine, I'll listen to you. Let's write.

* * *

"You know, I don't get you Artie." Steve stepped down to the second step, staying behind Arthur. "I thought you were in France to get a job and make money since they pay more here, than in the States."

"I was," Arthur snapped. "I am. But not illegally. Not like this." He looked at the body again. The skull's empty eye sockets stared back at him. Arthur could almost imagine what Edward had looked like. He could see him writing all the notes, pining them up. Madeleine, -whatever she looked like-, writing her reply. And then suddenly the reason why the paper he was holding had no check marks on it hit him. That couldn't be sold. That couldn't be bought. Not at any price.

"But Artie-"

"Don't 'but Artie' me!" Arthur suddenly whirled around to face his colleague. "We won't! And that's that."

In a few moments, Arthur had crawled out of the cellar. Steve waited to make sure he wouldn't be coming back for a while, then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hoped that he would get reception underground.*

* * *

Grace Cahill and her daughter Hope were eating dinner in front of the TV. It was a special treat for nineteen year old Hope, since the TV in her Mother's house wasn't turned on that often. More or less, eating dinner in front of it. The world was full of woes that night. The only nice thing that had happened, was that all the wildebeest in Southern Africa were migrating in their mass migration. And that just happened naturally.

Grace's mouth twitched down as she watched one thing Cahills had changed after another, and she was about to tell Hope to turn the TV off when the newscaster cleared his throat. "We have a breaking news story of two workers, going to start digging to build apartments, when the hit a cellar, and struck it rich."

Hope's eyes widened. "Wait! Don't change it Mom!" She quickly pulled back on her Mother's hand before Grace could turn off the TV. "I want to see what they found."

Grace settled back down on the couch. "Until you finish your dinner. Then it's off."

Hope nodded hastily, but only took a half-fork-ful of beans to swallow.

The camera swivled to a pretty, petite young lady with blond hair. "Thank you Dennis. Now look at this." A picture of a dark room was shown on the screen. "This is in eastern France near the border of Germany. When two CAT tractor drivers went to dig apartments. They broke in on an old cellar lined with oak wood. Now we have Maria Venezia." The camera zoomed out to show a French woman sitting at the same table with the blond haired lady. "Mrs. Venezia, can you... give us some more insight on this surprising incident in France?"

Grace began to find herself interested, even though she didn't want to be.

"Why certainly." Mrs. Venezia shuffled a small stack of papers that she had been holding in her lap. "The two CAT drivers haven't revealed their names to the press, but we can thank them."

_For what?_ Hope was itching with impatience.

"The two drivers found one of the biggest discoveries of our twentieth century. Look at this," Another picture of the same dark room, shown at a different angle, appeared on the TV screen. "This was apparently the cellar of Edward Cahill, and his wife Madeleine."

Grace eyes swivled to the screen and her jaw dropped.

"There was a body buried in the cellar, preserved extremely well by the dry climate, and it was sent to the Louvre to be carbon dated," Suddenly both ladies looked surprised. "Oh, here's a report back now. The body is supposably over five hundred years old."

Grace was desperately trying to make sure she didn't faint.

* * *

WH: Grace was a good agent. Okay, moving on.

* * *

"And now we have another breaking story of a shooting in-" Hope turned off the TV, finishing off the last of her mashed potatoes.

"That was the stupidest news report I've ever seen. They didn't even have anything right. Why didn't they wait till they found out what the body was carbon dated before they aired the program?"

Grace swallowed hard and didn't reply to her daughter. "Hang on," She quickly walked out of the room and over to the one phone in the house. She dialed a number that she hoped was still accessible. "Fiske," She breathed into the phone as soon as there was the click of someone picking up the receiving end. "Have you seen what's going on?"

The voice was rather rough. "No."

"They found where Madeleine Cahill lived."

There was silence.

"No way..." The voice breathed.

"Way. They're showing it now on channel 5. They don't even know what they've just stumbled on. They're calling the biggest discovery of the twentieth century. One of the biggest discoveries in the history of the world more like it. All the other branches are going to be fighting pell-mell for the right to own that property and Edward's body."

* * *

Madeleine rubbed her forehead lightly with the back of her right hand. This was just too much. Carbon dating? The laughter from her siblings couldn't possibly get any louder.

* * *

MO: Now THAT was funny.

WH: That wasn't funny! I would have been MORTIFIED if I was in Ed's position. That's another reason I didn't want him here...

AF: Good point. Moving on.

* * *

"No kidding."

_It's an improvement_. Grace thought. Usually all of Fiske's answers were one-word reply. She didn't really know what to reply though, then the line went dead. Grace thankfully hung up the phone, then on second-thought, put it back to her ear, and dialed another number. "William," She breathed into the phone as soon as there was a pick-up on the other line.

"Oh, it's just you, Grace," The voice was jesting and relaxed.

"Have you seen what's going on?"

There seemed to be a few coughs, and a low chuckle. "No, anything special?"

"You know how we've been searching for 450 years to find where Madeleine's old house stood? They were going to build apartment complexes over the spot, and they found the cellar. Everything else is apparently long gone, but Edward's body was buried there."

The was a long period of hacking coughs from Mr. McIntyre on the other end. "Say that again?" He finally whispered.

"Two CAT drivers who went to build apartment complexes discovered where Madeleine Cahill's house was, and found Edward's body."

"What have they done?" William whispered weakly.

"They sent the body to the Louvre to be carbon dated, and there's talk of turning the cellar into a museum."

There was a God-help-us groan from Mr. McIntyre. "There's an agent in France. He's rather new, but capable. I can put him on the job of retrieving the body. We can try and bribe the newspapers to be quiet and the museum talk will be hushed."

Grace bit her lip. "I think the other branches will do that for us. The problem will be outsmarting the Lucians for custody of the body, and of the area."

Mr. McIntyre nodded slowly. "I can do that. To buy the land, it'll be better if we wait till everyone's forgotten that the cellar is there. Then move in. The Lucians will fight it, but if we put the petition in your name, it might go through. Having the same last name might help us here."

"May God be with you, William," Grace leaned against the table, sighing.

"As with you."

There was a click as the line went dead.

* * *

As nothing very interesting seemed to be happening with Grace and Hope, Madeleine closed her eyes again and zoomed in on Fiske.

* * *

_Five Hours Later;_

As soon as Fiske had heard the news, he had rushed onto the first train leaving for the 'cellar area' of France. He'd had little warning. Fiske rarely watched television, so he had no need to be going out and buying the latest things that were on the market. Which meant, he had, had a horrible time trying to figure out which dial to twist and which knob to turn. The news show had been half over by the time he'd figured it out. Every ten years he had updated the TV, just so he could stay in touch, but the multiple woes of the 'family business', he didn't want anything to do with. Except this was different.

To the crowd of people swarming around the cellar, Fiske was perhaps an extremely well-dressed business man, perhaps there to look around before going to a government meeting. But Fiske ignored them. When nobody was looking, he slid into the cellar, landing on the dirt floor. It was much to his surprise that he learned although people were curious, they didn't want to risk going inside a cellar that dated back to the 1500s.

He could see the footprints left, and where Edward's body had lain. Fiske glanced at the table with all the lab equipment on it. Almost all of the tubes and holders had been taken, except for the one standing in the middle. Fiske frowned slightly. He could see where it had a tad of resemblance to the one he had himself. It had been passed down from Lillia's family through twenty generations, and had ended up in his hands. He supposed it technically belonged to Hope now, but Grace didn't see that she was ready yet to have it.

Fiske reached up and took the vial. It was surprisingly cold. The metal ring around it, although rusted, had done nothing else. It was in the same condition as the day Edward had made it. Fiske pocketed it, then glanced around the room for anything else.

There was a scrap of old-looking paper lying on the floor, so he reached down and picked it up. He sighed deeply as he read it. Unlike Arthur and Steve, Fiske knew the relative amount of information that had been passed through the years. They had known that Edward had been murdered, and Madeleine also. The murderer of Edward was questionable, but there was an old, letter Fiske had discovered while snooping in Alistair's collection of Cahill documents. It was perhaps one of the only objects that had lasted after the youngest daughter of Madeleine's death. The letter clearly stated who Madeleine had been murdered by, and who was partly to blame for the giant rift in the Cahill family.

While Fiske headed back to his apartment, he wondered what the two almost-identical vials did, and why Madeleine Cahill herself had said to 'protect it with your life'.

What in the world could be that important?

* * *

MO: Fiske has always been an interesting character. I don't know _how _he's Hope's decendant by the way...

WH: It's in there. Edward told me later about when Amy wanted to fight in Afganistan. Fiske practically had a cow. Ed said he screamed for two days straight and ignored all Dan's pleas to take him to the ninja movie that was coming out then.

AF: Wow. Resisted _Dan_? Maybe he does have more in him than I thought!

WH: Told you.

NS: I agree. But along another line, what are you doing later, Kate?

B: Going to murder Saladin. Just kidding. I don't know, hang out, watch Star Wars III for the fourth time.

AF: Lucas is awesome...

NS: WHOA! George or brother?

WH: SHUT UP, BEANSPILLERS!

AF: Seriously dude, who do you think? George Lucas of course...

NS: I love how my question was relatively ignored. Katherine, I wanted to ask you if you'd drop by and we'll do that rematch of chess. You're so dead this time...

B: Like that's going 2 happen. Okay. I accept. C u guys! The time's like- five something. Right, Mads?

WH: Five PM... Yes. That's the time. And Kate, don't forget to help Tom figure out what time zone he's in. _Okay_? REMEMBER SO I DON'T HAVE TO REMIND YOU!

MO: I TAKE OFFENCE TO THAT! But fine. Okay! See you, Mads!

_*Not L. Skywalker has logged off* *Brilliancy has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logged off*_

AF: Ha. Looks like it's just you and me, Mads.

WH: Ha, ha. Nope. Just you.

_*Wicked Harmony has logged off*_

AF: MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL! Dang. Sometimes I swear I'm going to kill that sister of mine, but it never seems to happen...

_*Art Freak has logged off*_

* * *

*** - I don't know when cell phones were made. I'm pretty sure that they were made later on, but I need a cell phone to fit in with the storyline. I'm too lazy to surf the internet to find something that would fit, so- forgive me like you have had to do so many times during this story...**

**Please forgive me for having so much fun with the chatroom. The names were all my ideas, but I have to admit (Iris, you're going to get it!) there was one part where I used her idea. Iris gets 10% credit in the italic parts for the 'Hello, Maddie' lines.**

**Question; Who liked the different form of italics? / Who liked the chat-room parts?**

**Oh, and by the way, Iris, I saw someone who said that Paint the Sky was the only long founder fic, and it was the 'best written' one in their review. Would you mind if you demolished them, to the point of near-death, and then stuck them in a barrel with a bunch of nails inside, and then fried them alive in a pan with Coconut oil? Oh, you will? Thanks. My appreciation goes out to you.**

**(I'm serious about the person. At least tell them that Forgiveness is out there and they better read it on the point of death.)**

***regrets that she has to take such serious measure with people who look before they leap and IF they look, only look right in front of their noses*  
*****mutters that Iris better do as she asks, or Iris herself will get the punishment along with the short-sighted reviewer*  
*****smirks, because writing like this is so fun, and taking long measures to force people to read her story is funny, and even better*  
*****wonders why she even WANTS people to read her story*  
*****hates the fact she was nominated for the Madrigal Awards*  
*****wishes that even though she's horrible, people will vote for her, because Forgiveness winning the Awards is one of her BIGGEST dreams*  
*****figures she ought to sign off*  
*****waves 'bye'***


	42. Forgiveness

**I don't know if you've seen that I've published two other stories, but I have. Personally, I think that those two other stories are almost better than Forgiveness and The Problem with Shining the Moon all put together. If you REALLY want to nominate something that I've written, nominate those two because - *cough, cough* **_**I**_** enjoy them. And that's saying **_**a lot**_** for me.**

**- Spider Queen-Queen; That thought is tempting. Very tempting. Very, very, **_**very**_** tempting. But I can't do it. Steve never reappears in the story anyway. And with all honesty- Grace is cool, and she was TOTALLY brave in Casablanca, but I'm not a great fan of her. The FOUNDERS? They're awesome. But Grace? I never felt any real attachment to her... Weird... O.o But I DID think that they should have faked Grace's death and had her come back in the 10th book. That would have been AWESOME!**

**- M. Vesper; *jaw drops limitlessly* **_**Vesper**_**. AHHHHHHHH! RUN, RUN, READERS! THE END OF THE WORLD AND ALL OF HUMANITY IS COMING TO AN END! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!**

**And M., (I'm rather scratching your head over the spelling of your name, and you're no doubt doing the same thing over mine.) I was wondering about you and your 'Vesper' club. I heard about you, and that you were trying to improve the fandom, just like us Madrigals are trying to do - but what's your plan? I mean, I'm just curious. If it's all- 'top secret' that's no biggie either. Just curious... And thanks, by the way! You haven't read the edited beginning chapters yet, either... *shudders* I'll send you to read the beginning again once they're up.**

**- Hope Rising; Oh! Thank you! *narrows eyes* And you're not sharing that cookie with me? HAHAHA! Just kidding. I'm glad you enjoy it. And with all honesty, (why do I keep saying that? It sounds like I'm being more honest now, than I have been in the past 36-odd chapters. O.o) if I can put a smile on your face- you've made my day, too. And if I brought you out of gloom and despair? Heck, that makes it even better! :)**

**- Skye; Are you kck, the anonymous reviewer? I'm curious... Just quessing. But anyway, I try and take the time to answer everybody's questions and comments. I know, because I was an off-line fan for a LONG TIME. And once, Another Artist answered my question.**

**I **_**FREAKED**_**. I don't think any kid on earth was happier than I was at that moment. I could have BOUNDED into 1507 if I had tried it. So I know how it feels, and when I put a smile on someone's face- I enjoy that. That in itself makes me happy. As I've stated before... *rolls eyes sarcastically***

**- Madrigal Agent; Thee are lucky that thy nemisis art a forgiving, loving person. *chucks Old-English* But honestly, (That again...) I'll forgive you and not virtually pan-fry you in coconut oil, but just be careful. If you reach the spot where you've ticked off my wrath- be careful, because 'forgiving, loving person' is gone. If you read the review/reviews I gave Iris after she /stole/ my story, you might get a glimpse of my anger - and honestly, I forgave her for THAT. So even then, I can do a LOT worse. Just a heads up- you know...**

**But I forgive you, if that makes it better. XD**

**- Iris; Of COURSE! You know, just- don't pay attention to my little note to Madrigal Agent up there... =D**

**- Sunshine - You're hilarious, you know that?**

* * *

_*Not Luke Skywalker has logged on* *Wicked Harmony has logged on*_

WH: Dang, Dude, you're prompt. It's exactly five over here.

NS: It helps when you have your watch set to Eastern Time instead of- whatever time zone Germany is in.

WH: Guess so. OH! So I forgot! I wanted to tell you L was coming home and he said he was bringing a big, one-pound bar of Belgian milk chocolate for each one of us. I told him you were out of town, and he didn't have to bother buying one for you.

NS: You _**WHAT**_?

WH: Well, it wouldn't really work out well if you came home when you're done with that mission and L ate TWO POUNDS of chocolate. Poor Katie would be busy for a week pumping his stomach out.

NS: MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL!

WH: I MADE MY POINT! Calm down! Geeze!

_*Brilliancy has logged on* *Art Freak has signed on*_

B: Great, what'd I miss? You and Luke seemed pretty talkative up there, Mads.

WH: He's raging since he missed out on those one-pound chocolate bars.

AF: O.o, rough treatment, eh?

WH: What IS that suppose to be?

AF: Two eyes, I think. Technically...

NS: Why don't we start writing? I mean, even if Tom's not here, he's probably not going to show up since he's still in Nepal. Katie, you DID help him with the time zones. Right?

B: *is mysteriously silent* *is worried*

NS: You didn't.

WH: Well that settles it. Tom isn't showing up, obviously. Well, he might be on here... at three in the morning, or something like that. But I don't feel like waiting for him either. We can say all that he said, right? And all this ought to be written in my POV anyway...

AF: Okay. Suites me. WRITE ON!

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-nine;**

**Forgiveness**

_10:00 PM that Day;_

_Why?_ Madeleine kept her face completely hidden by her hands and by her knees. _Why did Father make such an element of destruction? Why did he-_ She fought against the horrible truth. _Why did he change us into such monsters? Why did he give us something so powerful that it can't be contained? Why did he give us something that just might destroy the world instead of improving it? Why did I have to get stuck with being the superhero? Why couldn't I of been the one that all the others would of banded together against to destroy? They could of done it. Altogether they could have._

Her mind whirled, tossed, and swam with the unanswered questions. But there were no answers, and if there were, they were bitter, un-sufficing cold lumps of truth that were too hard to swallow.

_He must have had a reason_, She thought desperately. _There's got to be!_ But there was none. Madeleine could hear another conversation beginning below her. It ended, and the insults and arguing began. It was a conversation and an argument that she wasn't allowed to enter either.

Through the years, Madeleine had seen millions of ways to stop the arguments, calm her siblings down, and cease the fights. But she knew if she tried, her banishment and ostracism would be twice as worse. They didn't want to be together. They didn't want to stop competing for the #1 place. _But-_

Suddenly the whole picture flashed in Madeleine's brain. She saw everything, from beginning to end. And it had all started with Lucas, and ended with her. It had Gideon at the head, his face creased, and worried. And Luke, Katherine, Thomas, and Jane were all sandwiched in the middle.

Madeleine slowly stood up, her heart pounding in her chest. _If this works-_ If. If, if, if, if. That was the only thing. Madeleine paused for a moment before she got to the peepholes. The last time she had done an 'if' she had destroyed everything that she could of ever wanted. She had ruined hundreds of people, caused hundreds of thousands of lives to be lost, and her mission still wasn't done. For a moment, she stepped back, frightened at the prospect. If she made things worse than they were... There it was. That 'if' again. _What if it doesn't?_

Madeleine blinked. _He's gone, Maddie. Forget it._ But the words didn't go out of her head. She remembered the way Edward's eyes had flashed their ice blue when he had been angry: that one time, the only time he'd been angry with her. She remembered the utter disgust, yet wistful longing in his voice. The way his eyes had bored into her when he'd called her a coward. She remembered the way she had raced up to him, grabbed his hand, and promised never to be a coward again.

_Don't break it now._

Madeleine swallowed hard, then quickly took two steps up to the peepholes before she lost her courage. She softly cleared her throat, and waited for Thomas to stop throwing his insults at Luke.

"-And now you little slice of worthless moldy string cheese-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING STRING CHEESE!" Katherine howled in reply. Luke was silent, probably smirking at the insults.

"Well, I actually take what I've said before back." Jane butted in. "Four hundred years ago, the only insults you could think up were 'Big beefy cheese head', and 'Spaghetti hair'. The one thing I have to mention, is, Why does it always involve FOOD? You- you MORON!"

"I'M GOING TO 'MORON' YOU!" Thomas roared back in reply.

"Wait," Madeleine breathed, bringing her mouth closer to the peepholes so her voice could be heard. "Wait- don't yell, please."

There was silence for a few moments, then a low growl started from Thomas. "Who let _her_ in here?"

Madeleine didn't wait for any of the others to give a reply. "I've been here this whole time. You know, for four hundred years."

"You shouldn't be here," Katherine snapped.

Madeleine swallowed hard. "I'm the youngest daughter of Gideon and Olivia Cahill. I have just as much right as you do." _Perhaps more_. She thought wryly to herself.

"Oh please," Jane's voice seemed on the edge of laughter. "Do you actually expect us to believe all your imaginative lies and just _forget_ that you murdered our parents? Everyone else might, Madeleine Elizabeth, but _I'm_ not going to!"

Madeleine held her breath, trying to think of a reply. "It was an accident, Jane Cahill," She finally breathed. "And you don't have to believe me, but if you don't, then- then what good is it going to do us? We're all fighting _five hundred years later_. Five hundred years, you four. I don't expect you to believe me, but I- I want you to- _need _you to."

There was silence. Madeleine decided to start talking quickly before her audience lost interest. "I'm saying this right now, because it's the truth," She took another deep breath. "When Father made the serum, he made it for all of us, not for one person, or certain people. He wanted us to hold it, and protect it. All of us. He knew we could all do it together. But in fighting, we tore each other apart. If one of us had made the serum, the balance would of been upset. I was the one that was suppose to hold the family together. I tried, and I failed." For a moment the girl paused, there was no reaction from her siblings. "Perhaps if- if Lucas hadn't died, it would be different."

"He has nothing to do with this," The words were from Luke, like the start of a dog's warning, throaty growl.

"He has _everything_ to do with this," Madeleine shot back.

"Who's Lucas?" Jane whispered softly.

"It doesn't matter!" Luke snarled back. It was easy for Madeleine to imagine his eyes flashing fire like they always did when he was upset.

She bit her lip, uncertain. This wasn't going the way she'd planned... "Just because Lucas was your twin, Luke, doesn't mean that he wasn't our brother. He's _all_ of ours."

The roar from Luke was barely human.

In between pauses where Luke stopped cursing Madeleine long enough to take a breath, the girl listened to snatches of conversation from Jane and Katherine. "...Lucas was Luke's twin... inseparable... plague struck... Luke blamed himself... Lucas died... Never talked about... I almost forgot about him... looked like Maddie... Died when you were about two months old..."

The room was deathly silent for a few moments, then Madeleine could hear the intake of breath that meant someone was going to start talking. "So, _Madeleine_," It was impossible not to note the sarcasm in Katherine's voice. "Since it appears that you wanted to start talking, why don't you do ahead and talk all you want? Just let me put these earplugs in my ears..."

"Wait! I mean-" Madeleine tried not to sound too hasty. "Katie, can you listen to me? Please?"

Madeleine held her breath for Katherine's reply. "Fine," There was a low grumble. "I'm listening."

There was a deep breath for courage, and Madeleine readied herself for the onslaught that was sure to come. "I think Father meant to tell us about everything. I don't see why he wouldn't have. But he- he didn't before..." She decided on a different name for the incident. "I tried to pull us together. When we split apart, we didn't have any strength. We were weak. We've destroyed history as weaklings. Think about it."

Madeleine bit her lip and wiped a few drops of perspiration off her forehead, even though it wasn't hot in the room. "Think about Napoleon. The campaign in Russia where more than half of the army died? What about the atomic bomb in Japan? How many people died from the effects of the radiation alone? What about baseball stars? Nine year olds are kissing the ground that their idols have walked on. How does that teach them to get a job? How will that get them a family, a wage, a life?

"Even you, Jane. I-" Madeleine blushed slightly. "I know what you're thinking. TV was good. For how long? There aren't shows on TV. Not without seeing Marilyn Monroe singing her heart out so she can endorse a pair of fancy shoes that she wears. If people are so focused on their baseball idols, how are they going to get a job to buy those fancy shoes? If Lucians don't let Tomas' go to West Point, where are they going to get the generals to fight their wars? If the Ekats don't start trying to think what trouble their inventions are going to get them into, who's going to stop the rest of the world from snatching it and blowing up the planet?"

"And so I suppose you're just perfect, and you don't need anybody," Luke snapped. His voice was a triumphant-sarcastic mix; assured of victory.

Madeleine didn't need to think about the answer. She knew it. And it didn't take any time to think up, because it wasn't an excuse. It was the truth; served plain. "No," She whispered. "I need you. All of you, just as much as you need each other. That's what I wanted to say. We need to forgive each other, let the past go, and look towards the future. You've seen what that other family is doing. All of our branches will be destroyed before we realize the danger, mine included.

"Forgiveness is the only thing that's going to heal our hearts. We need to use it. When we stop killing each other; stop this insane madness that's been going on for four hundred years, _then _we can say that our job is finished. I know that's what Father wanted. And I know he would be proud of us if we accomplished that. Mother, too. And then- and then Lucas' death won't be wasted."

There was complete, utter silence in the room.

Madeleine counted the deathly still seconds. When she got to fifteen, she realized her heart was pounding three times for every second she was counting. She stopped before she counted her way to a cardiac arrest. After about thirty seconds, there was finally a soft murmur from someone.

"I can't hear you," Madeleine pressed her ear up against the two peepholes.

"I've- I've missed you, Maddie," It was Jane. Madeleine felt like she could bench-press 300 pounds. Her heart rate sped. She hadn't been called 'Maddie' ever since the first fire except by Edward. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed the nickname. "A lot."

"I've missed you, too," Madeleine found herself whispering as well.

"Whispers share nothing," Katherine snapped. "It's like Mr. Mysterious Mount Everest and other stuff I don't get."

"Because you're so lame you never went hiking," Thomas snorted.

"Hiking is _stupid_!" Madeleine could picture Katherine bristling. "Maybe you'd be a bit smarter if you actually tried to _do_ something. Like- read a book?"

"If you are so much as-"

"Please-" Madeleine's voice choked and drew back in her throat. "I- I know it's... a lot to ask, but we can do this. Really, we're all smart- just... different ways."

A snort from Katherine. "Come on, Mads. Muscles aren't smart. So much as I know, muscles have no mental capacity whatsoever."

"When I get out of this stupid box, I'm going to pin you against the wall, and then I'm going to break your nose, and _then _you're going to regret that you're so _smart_."

"Tom!" Madeleine's voice broke again. "Katie,_ please_."

"Don't 'Tom' me, Madeleine," Thomas was snarling now. "There needs to be someone to teach her she ought to keep her smart-aleck mouth shut."

"_My_ mouth? _Thomas Christopher Cahill_, my mouth is _clean_, at least."

"Katie!" Madeleine could feel herself shattering now- breaking against the arguments she was trying to stop. "Kate, _please_. Tom- stop. It's- it's not worth it."

Silence.

Finally it was broken by another one of Katherine's snorts. "Not worth it? The world being ruled by apes without brains? Sure it's worth it."

"_APES?_"

Madeleine's legs crumbled under her and she clenched her hands against her ears, trying to withstand the roar of sound being thrust against her eardrums.

"PLEASE, TELL _ME_ WHAT WOULD BE WORTH IT WHEN THE WORLD IS BEING RULED BY _GEEK-SCIENTISTS_ WHO CAN'T LIFT THEIR OWN _TEST TUBES_!"

* * *

NS: Nice one, Tom. Rather ingenious. Oh, wait. He's not here, is he...

WH: Nope. Eh. I'll send him to read this later.

* * *

It seemed that Katherine's eardrums were too shattered for her to answer.

Madeleine struggled to her feet, weighed down by her swimming brain. She braced herself against the wall and tried to gather all her thoughts back. "Tom- Tom-" Her voice cracked, and then she realized she was sobbing. Madeleine clung desperately to the peepholes so she wouldn't fall again. "Tom- stop. Katie- Kate- stop."

"My name's not 'Katie', or 'Kate'. It's Katherine. K_a_-_ther_-i_ne_."

"Fine," Madeleine snapped back, choking. "Fine, K_a_-th_er_-i_ne_. When I'm getting out of here; I'm- I'm leaving. The four of you- you can beat yourselves up arguing, but I won't. I'm not going to stay here and be _beat up_ because I won't argue, and I won't hate you- I _won't_. I. _Won't_, Katherine. _I'm leaving!_" Madeleine's words stumbled on themselves and she leaned against the black wall, sobs shaking her lean frame.

Silence, again.

"Come on, Maddie, don't leave, please," It was Jane. Madeleine gave a watery smile. Good ol' reliable Jane. "I'm here. It- it's alright."

Madeleine gave a bitter laugh. "You might try to work things out, but I'm done. I've done enough with my life. I'm through, Jane."

Katherine and Thomas' squabble was beginning to start up again. On a lower scale, but still there. Jane said nothing- silent. Madeleine slowly dragged herself into a corner, brought her knees up to her chest and almost hoped to die. The lump in her throat hurt worse, and she wondered slightly if it were cancerous. That might be the reason why it hurt everywhere else too.

"I'm sorry, Father," The sobs came back after the last word- worse than before. "I- I'm sorry. I- I failed. I f-failed you, failed Mo-mother, failed Edward, failed..." Madeleine hung her head. "I failed... Lucas."

_Of course, _Madeleine laid her head on her knees. _Of course I'd be the one to fail a brother I never even knew. _She hesitated, wondering what she could say next to herself to make her feel stupider than before. _Dunce._ Madeleine almost smiled, thinking of all the better words she could have chosen, and how 'dunce' just 'happened' to describe her perfectly. Then she hung her head in shame, letting her inner-Madeleine close her off from the world.

The squabble below her was gaining volume and dexterity again, and Jane began to call for her, but Madeleine didn't hear. _I did everything, Father. I proposed the plan to them; offered it, asked, pleaded, threatened. How do you work with them? I can't! I can't!_

_"You can, Madeleine."_

The girl's head shot up, and she sniffed softly. "Father?" But even as she whispered the word, she knew the room was empty. The voice was in her head, the echo of certain memories.

_"You can blend into anyone. Everybody can understand you, and you can understand Everybody."_

Madeleine gave a bitter laugh. "Because I'm a fluke, Father. Lucas was who you needed- who you wanted," Swallowing hard, the girl bit her lip. "He would have been better than me. He would have succeeded. And me- I'm just-"

_"A chameleon - our center."_

"A fake. A weak rivet."

_"My daughter."_

Another bitter laugh. "Of course. Your daughter, who use to be Luke's helper, Katherine's sidekick, Tom's climbing friend. I'm not theirs anymore, Father. I'm on my own, and it doesn't feel right. I'm-" Madeleine struggled, not wanting to say the words. "I'm still theirs, even- even though they don't want me."

_"We need you."_

"But I'm not going to stay around if I'm not wanted," Madeleine buried her head tightly against her knees.

_"You are _needed_, Madeleine."_

"But not wanted."

_"Hold us together."_

"How?" Madeleine tried to snap the words out, but they stuck in her throat. "_How_, Father? By making them all gang up against me and drive me away?"

_"Be the last stallion - the most important, but the least."_

Madeleine's hands flew to her head and she tugged at her hair, trying to stop the memories that were flooding out unbidden. _"I have all the talents, Father!" _She screamed at her thoughts. _"I _deserve_ to be the leader! Not last- not least. I've suffered for so long..."_

_"You aren't them. You're a different color - one all your own. You're clear, a chameleon."_

"I don't _want_ to be a chameleon!" The girl screamed out into the room. The words brought her back into the real world. Thomas was screaming at Katherine, and Katherine was screaming back, as usual. Biting her lip, Madeleine hung her head and curled up again, trying to sink back into herself. She couldn't though, and her ears picked up the noise outside even though she didn't want them to.

She identified the different noises rather than working on the words. Katherine gasping for more air to scream; Thomas snapping something in his hands, perhaps wood; and then... a different sound. Madeleine cocked her head, listening. It sounded vaguely familiar, like she was listening to herself, but from the outside; a mirror image.

It was Jane.

In that moment, Madeleine desperately wished she was out of her prison and next to her older sister. It was almost frightening how much comfort a hug could give, but it was dreadfully wonderful at the same time. Jane was below her though, and she couldn't get out of her box anyway. Even then, it was a relief to know she wasn't the only one who felt like a pile of trash at that moment. And apparently, Jane knew how to cry, too.

* * *

AF: Of course I knew how to cry. Crying is a reaction, not something learned.

WH: *snort* Well_ I_ don't cry.

NS: You were there. Like- crying right then.

WH: Sure, sure. _Not often_, then.

B: We'll buy that. Start writing, Mads.

* * *

_That Night;_

There was no night in the dark room, and ghosts didn't need to sleep. There was only the vague, distant light in the room that had no source, and couldn't be traced. It was a good thing she had that at least.

Madeleine placed the piece of paper and pen down on the table, stared at it for a few seconds, then wrote her name and the date on the top. Nothing popped into her head to write.

_I hate you. _She finally wrote._ You're annoying. I can't think of anything to write._

Then she crumpled the paper up and tossed it into a black corner. After a few more moments, she walked over and picked up the paper again, and brought it back to the table.

_I'm sorry, _She wrote at the bottom of the line she had written before. _I'm so confused right now, and I can't think of anything I'd like to do better than get out of this place and scram. The thing is, I'm a failure. I've failed everybody I've ever talked to- all the people I've ever known- not that I knew that many._

_Father trusted me, and I've failed him. I never pulled the family together like he wanted me to._

_Mother trusted me, and I've failed her. I think she always believed all the wives' tales about the youngest son and daughter being the best. Heaven knows Tom was barely even _with_ us for long, climbing was his obsession, and me? The best daughter? Heaven knows, Katherine was better._

_Luke trusted me, I think, and I failed him, because he was the best brother I'll ever have, and ever will._

_Katherine trusted me, just for my knowledge of the chemicals, of course, but still, I failed her._

_Tom trusted me, and I failed him because after all the sunsets and sunrises I went to, I never climbed Fat Man's Bluff with him, and that hurt._

_Jane trusted me, and I failed her because I was the writer for all her chorus parts. I wonder what she's doing now when she doesn't have me. And- and I think she was crushed worst of all when we were torn apart. Jane's rather like me. She needs someone to be there for her. With the fire, she lost her partner - Mother, just like I lost Father._

Madeleine paused for a moment, biting her lip, then she flipped the paper over and continued writing.

_Edward trusted me - no, maybe not trusted,_ loved_. He loved me more than anybody, more than life itself. He trusted me to stand on my own - to be able to go on without him; to be able to remember his love, but everything is all so mixed up. He always said he understood, but maybe he didn't. There's no way anybody besides God himself could understand everything that was torn apart that night._

_Every bond of trust and acceptance we had was shattered. Every connection of love and adoration we had was destroyed._

I_ was their bond. _I_ was their connection._

_I was_ shattered_. I was _destroyed_._

_But none of them noticed. How could they? Father and Mother died. We were never to taste Mother's cranberry bread again. We weren't ever to laugh at Father's gentle teasing even once more. And _I _did that._

I _set the fire that killed both of them and destroyed our lives. But truthfully told, would our lives really have been better if I hadn't done that? Luke and Katherine would have torn their eyes out over me. It was all I could do to stop Luke from hurting Katie that one night when I was twelve. What would have happened if I hadn't been there? What would have happened in a few years when I was, say, fourteen, and Luke grew more protective than he already was?_

_The fighting would have destroyed Mother, angered Father; caused Tom to be downright disdainful- making Luke vent his rage on two people, instead of just Katherine: and it would have forced Jane to make a shell probably not even _I_ could have penetrated. And me? I would have been in the center of it all, rushing from one place to the other- desperately trying to stop the fighters, but not being allowed to get in the way, and therefore, being killed- from the inside out._

_That's what would have happened._

_And how could I allow that? How could I allow that to happen to my family? If Father was right, and I really_ am_ the rivet, then what good is a lone rivet without something to connect it to? Who _am_ I?_

_With all that said- I didn't only fail Edward and my family, I failed Lucas. I failed that funny, distant person I never knew. He died before I was born. Father never talked about him- or Mother. Luke thought about him though, I can see that now. There were some times when Luke was just so- silent. He was thinking, but not about what was in front of him, which was rare. It looked like a distant version of what Jane does constantly._

_Was Lucas really that great? If he died when I wasn't born, then he only could have been four. A four year old making that big of an impression? Give me a break. But he was suppose to be like me. Black hair and these lizard-like green eyes. I've honestly been wondering for the past four-hundred and fifty-odd years, how alike we would have been if he'd lived. Would he really have been Luke's twin- _literally_, or would he had been worried- concerned- caring about me and our family? Would he have liked me?_

_That's what I wonder most of all. Would he really have liked me? This stupid weak-minded girl that pulled our family apart? Really?_

_I do wish, but without even getting to meet him- I guess that's all I'll ever be able to do unless Luke tells me. Ha. Like that's ever going to happen._

_I wonder._

* * *

NS: And people wonder if you or Jane is the worst soap-opera writer, Mads...

WH: Oh, shut up. I was just... at the point of writing soap-opera essays.

B: I don't really think that's an essay. It's just a pointless yammer-on.

AF: No, it's not, theoretically. It has a theme, and it _is_ decently well written...

WH: Because _I_ wrote it!

AF: Oh, now _really_, Madeleine. Like your writing is amazing...

WH: I only did that once!  
NS: What? The thing where you asked; 'where are the brownies at?'

AF: THAT ONE!

WH: I'm technically not suppose to mention it...

AF: EVER, EVER, EVER AGAIN! YOU ENDED A SENTENCE WITH A PREPOSITION! HOW COULD YOU _**DO**_ THAT TO ME?

B: To you?

AF: TO ME! IT _BURNS_ MY _**EYES**_!

NS: *_places sign in the middle of chat room_* Melodramatic Jane. Keep Writing.

* * *

Madeleine finished the last paragraph she was writing as an exceptionally loud yell broke out from down below. The girl winced and wondered whether she ought to sign her name or not. She decided not to, then got up and placed the newest paper on top of a stack of previously written-on papers.

"Maddie- Madeleine, I- are... are you there?"

It was Jane, again. Madeleine strode over the black floor to the two peepholes. She had to talk slightly over the sound of Thomas and Katherine's constant arguing. "It's me, Jane. What?"

There was a soft pause. Not in the other siblings' arguments, but from Jane. "I- I was wondering if you could grab this. I wanted to see- you know, the peepholes, if you could stick something out of them so it might connect us. Or- like... you know, something like that."

Madeleine shrugged, even though Jane couldn't see it. "I don't know. Send it up. It won't hurt to try."

"Here goes..." Jane murmured. There was a few moments wait, and then Madeleine saw a worm-like tube wiggling outside one of her peepholes. A pair of tweezers appeared in the girl's hand, and she expertly pulled the rubber object through.

It was a tube; about two inches in diameter- just barely fitting through the left peephole. Madeleine stared at it for a moment, wondering what in the world she was suppose to do with it. Then there was a noise from the tube, almost as if something was being pushed up it. Madeleine pressed her eye against the tube and leaped back as a rolled up paper nearly poked her eye out. There was a pause, then Madeleine could see a thin wire rod being slowly inched through the hole. It dropped there beside her eventually, and Madeleine picked it up.

_I was selfish,_ It read. Madeleine blinked, stood up and then pinched herself to make sure she wasn't in a dream. It hurt. She wasn't.

_I was so selfish, Madeleine. I see that now. You pointed out all those things and then all of a sudden, I could see everything- like a veil was lifted from my eyes. I looked back while Tom and Katie were arguing and wish I could go back and change it all._

_Remember when you were only twelve; when I was you big sister? Do you think Katie could make something that would turn back time, so we could find a way to re-live that? I remember when I snapped at you for not coming to me fast enough. Was I really that bad? Did I really care that much about myself and my music that I would deny you your freedom just to help me?_

_Everywhere I turn the answer seems to be 'yes'._

_I hate myself now._

_I remember once when I was playing a sonata for Mother. She hugged me when I was done. I was so proud of myself when she said I would someday do great things. But you didn't get that, did you._

_That's a statement with a period because it _is_ a statement- and not a question. I know that for a fact._

_You were left alone- alone and un-cared for, to be tossed from reckless waves to different parts of the sea. How could we have left you like that? I wonder that now. I understand what you meant; Father was too busy to help. But what about Mother? Was she too busy? I know each of us were too preoccupied with our own projects and designs for the world to care. That's what got us all into this heap of mess in the first place._

_And then there's Lucas._

_I honestly don't remember him. Who was he, Madeleine? I think you know more about him than me. Would he have cared about us, do you think? Or- or would he just have been another person- splitting you seven different ways instead of six?_

_Don't leave, Maddie. I know how long this has been going on. I know how stupid and clumsy and inadequate you've got to feel, but don't leave. Don't give us up. I love you. Not for music- not for anything else. I love my little sister. Luke, Tom and Kate just haven't had the veil pulled up- over their eyes. Once they realize everything, they _will_ love you- for who you are._

_Isn't it funny how you can write thirty-six romance stories and _still _not grasp that illusive concept?_

_With much love from ignored years,_

_~ Jane_

_PS- Keep the rod. It'll help force the next letter down the rubber tube._

* * *

WH: We stop here. This is going to be a SERIOUSLY long chapter, so I figured we'd break it into two parts.

AF: Okay. Makes sense. What are you doing tonight, Katie?

B: Eh... I wasn't really planning on doing much, but-

WH: YUM! B_**E**_**L**_**G**_**I**_**A**_N C_**HO**_**C**_**OL**_**A**_**T**__E_ D_**ELIVER**_Y!

B: OHMYCHOCOLATETURTLE! LU WENT THEIR FIRST? NOT COOL!

_*The Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

AD: Hello, I am-

WH: GET OFF OF HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE BEFORE I PERSONALLY CHUCK THIS ONE-POUND BAR OF BELGIUM CHOCOLATE AT YOUR FACE!

AF: Wow. But one question, Mads. Who would chuck it at his face if you DIDN'T do it personally?

B: I agree with Jane...

NS: L, you just might want to get off, I mean, I've experienced Maddie's wrath... Didn't turn out pretty, let me tell you...

AD: Since it appears you're all on the same page...

WH: I MEAN _NOW_ BUSTER!

AD: Pushy, pushy, pushy, pushy... *BLOWS RASPBERRIES*

_*The Anonymous Dude has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logged on*_

WH: I hit him on the side with the chocolate. Not a clear shot... Pity. But 'Hi' to the person who didn't figure out we were on until we were done!

B: Hey, Tom!

NS: Hello, _D-u-d-e_.

AF: Hi! XP

MO: Hey, guys. What's XP suppose to mean, Jane?

AF: It means I'm sticking my tongue out at you because you were late.

MO: It's not MY fault!

WH: Yeah, yeah... Well who's is it?

MO: Well, the stupid ski rescuers-

WH: SKI RESCUERS? _Thomas Christopher Cahill..._

MO: Well, SHUT UP! I haven't even gotten ONE SENTENCE out yet! GEEZES! So I was like- skiing when I hit this stupid rock someone had placed RIGHT THERE in the middle of the trail. I went flipping, etc. etc. And I was like- FIFTEEN HUNDRED feet up. So the ski rescuers came and they were all like- "Oh, sir! You need to go and sit DOWN!" And BLAH, blah, blah, BLAH-bity, blah, you know the drill. I shook them all off but I couldn't get back here in time, EVEN THOUGH I knew I needed to get on. There. That's my excuse.

WH: O-_kay_... *awkward silence*

B: Very nice, Tom, but I think you forgot one point.

MO: Yeah, yeah, what's that?

WH: Don't forget we need to end this people... It's getting a little long...

B: Well, if you're STILL in Nepal, that would mean that you're on our opposite side. It would be about five in the morning there. So my question is- WHY ON EARTH WERE YOU SKIING IN THE DARK AT FOUR IN THE MORNING?

MO: Ah... I didn't tell you I flew to Alaska to rock the Rockies slopes? It's like- nine o'clock here...

NS: ? I think you forgot... O.o

WH: I agree with Luke. But anyway, we have to end this. And make sure you get home soon so Lu can give you your one-pound thing of chocolate before it melts.

NS: HEY!

_*Wicked Harmony has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logged off* *Brilliancy has logged off*_

NS: So what are you doing, Jane?

AF: Well, since Maddie's off... Hm... I'll tell you. I was going to sneak into Maddie's house and grab her chocolate bar. It's payback for ruining my canvas with those stupid finger-paints. Gr...

NS: Oh... Do you mind actually if you save it for me? I'm heading back sooner than Tom's going to be back from 'rocking the Rockies...'

AF: You know what? I think I might actually do that. And I want a video tape of Maddie's face when she sees you eating it.

NS: AWESOME! Art ROCKS! Because I know you'd like that better than a compliment to yourself.

AF: You know me too well... *sigh* Okay, bye!

NS: Bye!

_*Not Luke Skywalker has logged off* *Art Freak has logged off*_

* * *

**Wow. That was WAY too long. Sorry, but I couldn't resist. *sighs* So there you go. And the chapter is split into two parts. It was just too long, so I decided to hold up and do a separate 'continued chapter' thing. Be grateful, because I could have TORTURED you with SUCH a long chapter it would have taken you an hour to read it all and reach the end. O.o**

**Question; Did you like the chat-room parts? Did you think this chapter was decent? WHO LIKES BELGIUM CHOCOLATE? And most importantly- DOES, LUKE, GET, HIS **_**CHO-CO-**__**L-A-T-E**_**?**

**I've actually been to Belgium, and tasted their chocolate, and it's to DIE FOR! Luke, apparently, thinks the same way. Hm... I wonder why... XD**


	43. Forgiveness  Part 2

**Okay, you guys. Who's going to watch Cars and Kung Fu Panda 2? I can't wait! Wait until I see them, of course, because I think Kung Fu Panda 2 is already out... O.o**

**Was that a random yammer-on? Oh. Sorry...**

**BEGINNING CHAPTERS ARE EDITED! I want everybody who reads this, to go back to the first chapter. Not the Prologue, the first chapter, and read it through chapter four if you have time. If you don't- eh. I think you're missing out. ENJOY EYES THAT DON'T BURN!**

**- Skye; I apologize. Anonymous reviewers are hard to keep track of, you know, unless they use the same name, like Spider Queen-queen... And you, of course, and Hope...**

**Might I say though, that you are technically a very good writer for someone who just migrated from sanskrit. XD**

**- Voices in Head; I LOVE your name. Ingenius! :D My only claim to fame though, is that I've written the only 'novel style' and the 'longest' 39 Clues fanfic. But that's it. My only addition is that I've started the burst of stories about the founders. Which is sad, because half of them are just like Ian/Amy - rather crappy. O.o (I wasn't talking about Paint the Sky, Iris. That one's good.) But as to the best writer on the archive, and one of the better writers on the site, I thank you **_**very much**_**. I don't agree with you, as Wings, Syberian, and Joyce fall into the catoregory MUCH better than I do. But thank you, very, **_**very**_** much.**

**Besides, I do think that you would mind if I gave you an insanely long chapter. I don't know if you know what my 'insanely long chapter' saying means, but it means that it's over about eight-ish pages long. That's on WordPerfect, and not even copied onto the WordPad that I use to transfer between the two computers. So eventually you would be sitting at your computer for about one whole hour reading one chapter. I would hate that, so I try not to make them too long. :)**

**And then, Lucas? You'll have to read and FIND OUT MORE!**

**- Spider-Queen-Queen; I know. If ANYBODY **_**EVER**_** SAYS **_**ANYTHING**_** AGAINST THE FOUNDERS, trust me, they **_**will not**_** be living a happy life. Courtesy of moi. But why on earth is everybody saying the last chapter was so emotional? I mean, I didn't even THINK about trying to make people teary on that chapter. You guys were all suppose to cry on Chapter Nine! What's going on? But I guess I ought to take those comments as compliments and not ask why... O.o**

**- Hope; Ah, no thank you. I do have my own personal chef, you know. Her name is a five-letter word. **_**Mommy**_**. **_**Mommy**_** just doesn't bake cookies that often. *pouts* XD**

**- Sunshine; BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, you are funny, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters. And honestly, I LOVE how the italic parts came out in this chapter. Perhaps how I wrote it wasn't funny, but the content was. The last ones are probably best... And no, this isn't the emocon war chapter. That's a few chapters down the road.**

**You CRIED/teary/emotionally touched? Wow. I... wasn't aiming for emotional contact, but... okay. I'll take that. O.o**

**- Mist; I know you didn't review, you sent me a PM, but I had to add you in here because... eh. Because I'm stupid. XD**

**You said that you were having trouble with the chat parts because of the usernames. I'd like to know if anybody else is having this problem, and if you think I ought to change the usernames back to 'M, L, E, T, K' etc. The thing is, I was having trouble with Luke and Lu because their names both start with the same two letters. Then I came up with the idea of Lc and Lk. But that just looks rather stupid, and I don't know if it would help any. After that, I have a few italic parts where they're arguing about their username, and they're **_**really**_** funny - in my mind. If we remove the usernames, those would have to go, and I'd have to re-write all the italics over again - which I really don't want to do. So should I change those? **

**But just a notice before you begin reading: this is a continuation of Chapter Thirty-nine. Remember where the last chapter left off? Remember where you were thinking the story was going to go? You do? Okay. Good. You can start reading now.**

* * *

_*Wicked Harmony has logged on* *Art Freak has logged on*_

WH: We are going to stay silent until everybody gets on. GOT THAT? No questions, no answers, no comments. _NOTHING_.

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged on* *Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

AD: Let me scroll up. Oh, no comments, eh? Is this considered a comment, or a question? Are comment/questions allowed?

WH: SHUT UP!

AD: Ha. Like that's going to happen! Oops. A comment... Oh, no, it's an explanation...

WH: I told you to shut up. You are suppose to LISTEN TO ME!

AD: And technically, I DON'T WANT TO!

WH: I hate you.

_*Brilliancy has logged on*_

B: Oh, great, now what, Mads?

AD: OOOO! A QUESTION, MADELEINE! KICK HER OFF!

WH: No, if I'm going to kick anybody off, it's going to be _YOU_!

B: What's... going on? I have the feeling I missed something... O.o

WH: Ignore him and write. That's all I can say. Ignore, and write. Jane- I need you!

* * *

**Continuation of Chapter Thirty-nine:**

Madeleine forced a choked smile. That was Jane for you. Repentant with numerous questions to be answered. She was smart, at least. Letter exchanging wouldn't let anybody know what questions and answers were flowing back and forth. And besides that, no arguments would sprout up from it.

* * *

AF: Oh, THANKS. 'At least'? That's IT?

WH: Sorry, but that's it.

B: Where's Luke, anyway? You said we don't start till everybody's on here, but Luke's not here.

WH: Luke isn't coming today.

MO: Why not?

AD: Because he's a jerk, and he said that: 'If I'm not going to be in it, I might as well stay out.'

AF: O.o Sounds like Ed. Right, Mads?

WH: Totally. Write now.

* * *

Another pen appeared in her hand along with a piece of paper, and Madeleine sat down again at the table and began to write.

_I won't leave, Jane. I promise that now- and I don't break promises. It's just- I've been working so long on this. My whole life. Four hundred and fifty odd years. Never a break, never any time for me. Tom was pretty much absent, thank goodness, but you and Katie were supporting Luke, and Luke destroyed everything I had, everything I loved, everything I had clung to. I've been hoping that before we get out of this stupid box we could make up. Forgive each other._

_Our battleground is no longer limited to just Europe, Jane. We cover _the world_. The _universe_. Tomas' are on the moon. What's going to happen if the Ekats go to Venus? It'll be a Space War like in all the science fiction books Mark Twain and Jules Verne wrote. Heaven forbid, the war would spread to all the planets and all the stars, and destroy not only the world, but the universe._

_Can you see that? I know you can, being you, but I don't know if you have what I see in my mind. There won't be any life. It will be an elimination of mankind. It will be a picture of suffering- not of glory._

_Anyway, I'm rambling on and on, and probably sounding like a total soap opera heroine._

_Mother wasn't a wave, she was a bay- a harbor. No, not even that. She was a boat on the harbor, tossed like me around on the waves. She was her own separate island- unique- loving. She cared for each of us, giving no one any separate attention or more love. I would have gained sympathy, and perhaps some advice, going to her, but not anything sturdy- not the friend I needed._

_Luke was, quite honestly, the closest thing I had. He cared, loved, and led me everywhere I needed/wanted to go. But he couldn't grasp what I wanted. His talent is to see power, and to see the ways to grab it. There was _power_ in our family. Note I said 'was'. We were strong together- an unbending rod of steel against the elements. Luke's immediate instinct was to grasp that- me aside, but I balanced him out. I leveled his thirst for power with his need to take care of me. And with the fire, I think I betrayed him worse than anyone. The power took over then, with nothing to balance it. You couldn't balance it, Katie couldn't- and why on earth would Tom let anyone take care of him?_

_Lucas- Lucas- Did Father ever tell you, that you- like me- ask the most unanswerable questions on earth? I'm teasing._

_Lucas was supposably Luke's twin. I was told that he would have died just about the time you were born. Sorry, a few months later. He and Luke were 'inseparable'. Whenever you saw one, you were sure to find the other somewhere nearby. At least, that's what I was told. Anyway, he caught the plague from somewhere or something when it was making the rounds, and he died._

_From what I was told, Luke, well- died. Eh, well, you know, like- pining died. He locked himself in his room for months and didn't want anything to do with the world. I can understand that. Lucas wasn't 'just' a brother. Their relationship isn't anything like Tom's and Luke's. They were just- made to be together. Luke was born to lead, and Lucas was (maybe) born to be led._

_I was born about eight months after Lucas died. From what I was told, Luke wanted another brother; someone just like Lucas who he could understand and connect with. He didn't get a brother though, he got me. The thing was, though, I look like Lucas. We both have/had black hair and green eyes. And so even to Luke, I was just a replacement, not a separate friend, or sister._

_GREAT invention, by the way! That was like- a totally AWESOME idea._

_With belated love,_

_~ Madeleine_

It took only a moment for Madeleine to tie the letter to the rod and curl it tightly so it would fit down the tube. The rod was given a gentle tug as Jane untied the letter, and then Madeleine drew the rod back up and waited.

* * *

Jane's letter took a while. Madeleine scribbled randomly on a piece of paper for about two hours, wondering vaguely if Jane had changed her mind and she didn't want to forgive and just be sisters again, after all. Another hour passed until Madeleine heard a letter being pushed up the tube. She went to stand by the peephole, and eventually, a rod poked through, bearing the piece of paper.

Madeleine untied it, and watched as Jane retracted the rod back down to her own black room, then she unfurled the letter, sat down at the table, and began to read.

* * *

AF: Oh. I didn't know I took that long...

WH: You took LONG.

B: So Jane came up with the 'mailing' thing? I thought it was you, Mads.

WH: I thought I told you that Jane came up with it. Did you forget?

B: Memories are not perfect.

AD: Unless you have Dan's.

MO: Eh, that's true. A photographic memory would be AWESOME. Right, Jane?  
AF: YES!

WH: Yeah, yeah. Whatever...

* * *

_Thanks, Mads. I know. But I really don't think I was supporting Luke that much. I mean, I wrote letters to him, just to stay in touch, but never to keep that line. I never... liked him. I mean, as a brother, just because he was my brother, but not like you and him._

_It was funny sometimes, Madeleine. There were moments where I'd see Luke glance at you- not a long glance, mind you, just quick. And it was in concern. He was constantly looking out for you- making sure you were alright, that nobody hurt you, and that you were always by his side. I didn't have anybody like that. Kate and Tom held together just because- they sort of clicked - 'ish'... You and Luke were always together, and so- my music was my only companion. That and Mother._

_I do wish that I had someone though. Perhaps if I had, I wouldn't have made so many mistakes. I could have smiled more, and then I could have helped you bring the family together. Do you remember your face that night of the fire? I guess you don't, since you'd have to look in a mirror, but it was covered with ash- and so frightened. I'm sorry I never understood then. Maybe I could have stood with you instead of smiling at the pain we were causing._

_Lucas sounds... interesting. I wish I could remember him. But then, Katie would probably tell me the limit to young children's memories. Ha._

_Luke though- I can understand his pain- somewhat. I written about it before in a short story I called... Gee, what _did_ I call it? Hang on, I've got to rummage through all my papers here..._

_Is it seriously an hour later? Man, that was hard. I didn't realize I had so much stuff. I'm going to need to have a rummage sale soon. Like anybody would come. Ha. Anyway, it was named Rings of Grass. Horrible story. I kind of took it from Lord of the Rings because Lord of the Rings was SO GREAT I couldn't resist. Have you read that? I mean, it was AWESOME! Like- bury-the-book-with-me it was so awesome._

_But I think Luke does think of you as a sister. Perhaps not in the form you're thinking of, but he adored you, Madeleine. I saw his face that night, and it was tortured. He _loved_ you, and you set a fire that destroyed everything we had. I don't think he wanted to face the truth, but he had to. And then once- like you said; you were off the teeter-totter, the sides dipped and he grew angrier than I've ever seen him._

_He changed that night, Maddie._

_Something broke-ruptured-snapped inside of him. All love he had for anybody disappeared, and he covered himself with a shell so he wouldn't ever be hurt like you hurt him, again._

_Honestly, Madeleine, I'm going to shut up now because it should be Luke telling you all this and not me._

_Chiao,_

_~Jane_

* * *

MO: Perhaps it's a good thing that Luke isn't here. He'd probably rip both your heads off.

AD: Two heads, rolling on the floor. Thanks. I needed that...

B: Ew...

AF: YUCK! OH, GROSS! MY EYES BURN!

WH: Katherine, STOP HER!

B: Nope, sorry, Jane. You aren't going anywhere. We need you. Sorry.

* * *

Madeleine smiled and set the letter down. Of course Jane would be the one to give a soap-opera a cliffhanger. It was so... _Jane_.

Cocking an ear, Madeleine began to listen to the conversation below her. It seemed rather soft now. The yelling was gone. Katie... Katie and Jane? Those two? Madeleine strained her ears to hear the soft voices.

"... and so you owe her, Katie. And you know it."

"I do not. She owes _us._ And she owes us big-time. She owes us two parents, all our possessions, and a home. She owes us a _family, _Jane. And you know what? You took _her side_. You actually _believe_ all that crap about it being an accident. Of all people - _you_. Do you actually think that Madeleine didn't set that fire? That somehow a flame just 'magically' started and killed Father and Mother? Do you _really_ believe that?"

Jane hesitated. "No..." She breathed. Madeleine's heart lumped in her throat. "I believe... that Madeleine never meant to kill them. She wanted us to have a family - the one thing we _thought_ we had, but didn't."

"So she set a fire to destroy everything we had? Good way to tell somebody you love them."

"You know it's true, Katie."

"My name is not 'Katie'!" Katherine snapped, sounding more like the normal 'lab-occupied' Katherine. "It's Katherine. K-a-t-h-e-r-i-n-e."

"I know that..." Jane seemed to fidget uneasily.

"So say it that way. And stop bothering me: I'm busy."

There was a sigh from Jane's direction, and then after a few moments, Madeleine heard a paper being pushed up the tube.

_Well, _it read. _I tried._

Madeleine sighed, and a piece of paper appeared in her hand. She wrote on the wall so she didn't have to bother walking all the way over to the table.

_Nobody can ask you to do any more. Thank you, though. You tried._

Sighing herself, Madeleine pushed the paper down the tube and leaned against the wall. It was so impossible. An impossible task she had been assigned. It was like- like- _Like trying to keep a river dammed for all eternity without letting a single drop out._ Madeleine gave a bitter laugh.

"Madeleine, hey, listen up, will you?" It was Tom. Madeleine leaned over to the peephole so she could be heard.

"I'm here. What?"

"You know on Mount Everest, there's two paths up. One in China, one in Nepal. Yadda, yadda, yadda. You get it. Anyway, if one side takes less time than the other, but is more dangerous, what's the better deal if the other side is less treacherous, but takes more time?"

Madeleine thought for a moment about her reply. "You know," She breathed, eyes twinkling, and listening to everybody listening to her, as well as listening to herself. "On Mount Everest, there's a little not-so-well-known trail that connects the China trail to the one in Nepal, or vice-versa. Blah, blah, blah. I think you get it. Now, if you went up China's side, and then switched over the trail to Nepal's side, you could cut the time it takes to go up the longer side in half."

"_REALLY?_"

Madeleine leaped back and curled up against the wall, covering her ears. Apparently Tom still hadn't realized the extent of his own vocal cords. She could feel her mouth twitching up though, laughing. She wished she could hug Thomas again. Just one more time, at least. An over-whelming sadness nearly choked her.

"No, no, no, wait, Mads. But _seriously?_ Can you like- actually _do_ that?"

Madeleine had to laugh. It felt so good to let all the chains fall off - if only for a moment. "I would think so - if you could find the trail. It's rather tricky. Like- right by the top pass."

"_SWEET!_ I am _SO_ climbing it that way!"

Madeleine laughed again, and she could hear Jane's bell-pealing giggles joining in. A sudden reserve sprang up inside Madeleine, releasing happiness all through her she didn't even know she had. Then it stopped; stopped dead.

"You _too?_" The snarl from Katherine was sharp and fierce. "I can take it from Jane, but from _you_, Thomas! I thought you _at least_ had more sense than _that!_"

Madeleine could feel surprise rocket through the black rooms. Defensiveness was next. Thomas was hesitant to answer, though, weighing all options before he made a decision. Unusual for him. "I think..." He murmured slowly. "I think that Maddie..."

Madeleine held her breath.

"... did what she did... for a reason. Perhaps it wasn't what we would have preferred, but in England, George Washington was seen as a rebel, right?"

Madeleine couldn't believe it was Thomas talking. Luke, or Jane perhaps, but not Thomas.

"_Traitor!_" Katherine's voice was half-screech, half-savage roar. "I _trusted_ you, oaf! You big, fat... silly, _blundering_ _oaf_! I _thought_ if I had to be stuck with_ ANYBODY_ that I could stand being stuck with _you_!"

A laugh from Thomas. "You're still stuck with me."

"THAT IS MY _POINT!_"

A scrap of paper was roughly shoved up the tube, while Thomas' laughing voice threw back Katherine's comments into her face. Madeleine took and unfurled it.

_What now? Katie sounds like a hard converter._

Madeleine thought for a few moments before the paper appeared to respond.

_Katie needs proof. She's a scientist. The thing is, I can't offer proof. I can only offer faith. A scientist trusting faith? Pigs would fly first._

_But that's the avenue, anyway. Proof._

* * *

B: I can't believe you guys. I just- _cannot._

MO: You're still stuck with us though.

B: Yup. THAT'S MY POINT!

* * *

Jane replied in a few seconds.

_So... Any plans?_

Laughing slightly, Madeleine wrote out her answer and sent it.

_Not a one._

Jane sent nothing after that.

Thinking, Madeleine wandered over to her chair and sat down. So Katherine's avenue was proof. Of course. There could be no disputing that. So what _would_ convince her that everything had all been an accident? _What?_ Madeleine stood up again, frowning. Then an idea came, just as she needed it.

"Katherine," Taking a few strides, she pressed up against the black wall and the remaining open peephole. "If I'm so bad, what- what makes you think so?"

"You're _heartless_," The snarl was quick, fierce, and said so firmly that it was arrant proof that Katherine believed absolutely nothing else.

Madeleine could feel herself crumbling. All the pain poured back - all the times she had cried herself to sleep because her heart was cut so deep she was afraid it might never heal again. _Heartless?_ The rooms were silent. Nobody said anything, waiting for her reply.

But Gideon's voice suddenly spoke, catching her as she felt like she was going to fall backwards. Olivia's soft words strengthened her, pulling her up and forcing her head to lean against the peephole to speak again. And then another voice was in her head. It wasn't Luke, although it sounded like him- vaguely; and not Jane, she had a higher tone. It was almost like Luke, Tom, Katie and Jane had all been squashed together to form a different voice - something so similar, but unique - one all its own.

And Madeleine knew. One month _had_ been enough.

"But if I was heartless," Madeleine whispered. "Then why would we all be here? Why didn't I keep the vial just for myself? Or why didn't I create separate ones? That's the reason we're able to speak right now, you know. We're all together."

Katherine was silent for a moment. "Then why_ did_ you set the fire? You destroyed _everything_, Madeleine."

The little unique voice was stronger than ever. Not really the voice itself, just the feeling. Madeleine closed her eyes and focused on it - drawing strength from the feeling that was offering it. Then something else was there - not different, but deeper, older, stronger.

* * *

AD: HA_HA_HA_HA_HA_HA_! HELLO, MADELEINE!

WH: If you do not shut your mouth, I will personally drive down to your apartment and murder you in your sleep.

AD: Sure. Like that's going to happen anytime soon.

* * *

_"Say it now."_

Madeleine couldn't help but hug herself. "Because I loved you too much to not do anything; because I loved myself too much to let you go."

"But why fire?" Katherine's voice suddenly cracked. "Why not just destroy the lab? _Anything else_, Madeleine!"

_"Come on, Maddie. Get it over with. End this- Now."_

Madeleine's fingers clenched so tight on herself that her knuckles turned white. But she couldn't stop smiling, and feeling that connection - two was better than one. _"I'll try. I don't know, I'll try."_ "Because that wouldn't have helped. And besides, people in the village might have been blamed. It would have just made things worse than they are. We needed- _connection_."

Madeleine's hand flew to her throat in surprise. The word hadn't been hers. It had come out that way, but it wasn't- hadn't been hers.

_"Nice word choice."_ The voice sounded faint. The link that had been there wasn't now; Madeleine had pulled away.

_"Who _are_ you?"_ She could feel her mind automatically drift towards the voice- that... whatever it was that was trying so hard to connect with her.

"But it would have served its purpose! Father might have come back- like you wanted him to. Maybe we all would have been together!"

Madeleine felt dizzy- trying to link with the feeling- but trying to push it away at the same time. "But- but you wouldn't have stopped fighting over me. All of you- you-" Madeleine licked her lips and shoved the link away. "-you wanted me. It would have gotten _worse_ over the years."

"A temporary solution."

"A long-term result."

_"Stop that."_

* * *

AD: You were _so_ annoying there...

AF: Maddie- so you were having like- three conversations at the same time? Gee.

WH: Thanks to Mr. Anonymous over there, who truthfully shouldn't be here...

AD: Haha.

B: Oh, hush.

* * *

Madeleine leaned against the black wall and clenched her head in pain. The feeling was no longer pleasant. It was forceful- making room for itself in her mind. _"Go away, I don't know who you are."_

_"That'll be hard- making me shut up. Ha!"_

Madeleine drew on every ounce of strength in her body. _"Go... AWAY!"_ Gasping at the mental effort needed to keep whatever-it-was out of her mind, Madeleine stumbled, even while leaning against the wall.

"Maddie, are you alright?" Jane- worried now.

"I'm fine," Madeleine clenched her teeth and gave the feeling-voice another shove backwards.

"I still don't understand though," Katherine whispered. The older sister was subdued now. Madeleine thanked her lucky stars _that_ was the case. Having mental arguments in three corners was_ never _pleasant.

_"Go AWAY!"_ "What don't you understand, Kate?"

_"Your tactic isn't working. And for heaven's sake, stop blocking me!"_

"It's Katherine. And I don't see why didn't try out something... easier- I guess, first. And then if that didn't work, force something harder later."

_"That's not going to happen. Go back to where you came from!"_ "Because there were too many possibilities that weren't pleasant that might happen. I couldn't let Edward get hurt in the village. He was the first possibility since he worked for us, too. And if I had framed it on someone else-"

_"Relax!"_

"-then... then," Madeleine quickly shook her head to try and clear it. "-they would have gotten hurt, and their families, too, then." _"I said to go away! Stop bugging me! I'm trying to convince my sister that I didn't do an evil, malicious crime and it was a complete accident!"_

_"If you relax, I can _help_ you!"_

Madeleine could feel her mind growing weaker. Whoever-it-was, was stronger than her, or perhaps had more experience with this sort of thing. She tried to shove him away again, but she could feel him resisting her resistance and pressing farther into her mind.

"It's just ...Maddie... I don't know..."

She was almost out of strength. "I do love you, Katie- Katherine, if you honestly want to be called that all the time. _Almost as much as corn is cool._"

Madeleine's hand clamped over her mouth. _I didn't say that, _She swallowed hard in desperation. Please_, tell me I didn't say that._

_"I did. Stop worrying."_

_"_GO-_" _And everything turned double. Madeleine felt her head spin around, tilting every which way except up. She would have crumpled to the floor, but something held her upright. It was the feeling - or not really a feeling anymore. The voice was stronger now, but who/whatever it was, was _pushing_ strength into her. Not offering it- pushing it.

_"I hate you,"_ She thought.

* * *

AD: Ah, yes, Madeleine. I love you too.

* * *

_"Thanks. And you'd be the one flopping on the floor, right?"_

"Madeleine?" Katherine was confused. "Almost as much as corn is cool? Why on earth is _corn cool_?"

"I believe you'd have to answer that question for all of us." Thomas sounded like he snorted.

_"_You're_ the one who said 'corn is cool',"_ Madeleine thought disgustedly to the voice. _"_You_ answer the question."_

_"Fine," _The voice shot back. _"_Relax_, though."_

"Corn's awesome. Do you need any other answer?" It felt weird, her mouth moving, but not speaking.

"But why is corn awesome? They still haven't come up with that adscititious-gas. I mean, honestly, Madeleine, you _eat_ corn."

"So? It can still be awesome." Madeleine wanted to roll her eyes at the answers who-ever-it-was, was giving. Honestly? It's _awesome_? That was the best he could come up with?

_"Yeah, it is. _You_ come up with a better reply."_

"Whatever," Katherine must have rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm with you, Maddie, but... I still don't understand."

The voice was speaking before Madeleine could gather up the strength to check him.

* * *

AD: Because I am AWESOME!

_*Not Luke Skywalker has logged on*_

NS: Ah, yes. Your self-importance blinds me.

WH: Thank you. Just what I was going to say.

B: *laughs*

MO: *snickers*

AF: *rolls eyes with quite obvious sarcasm*

* * *

"Alright. So what about_ your _lab? If someone had come in the middle of the night and trashed it, would you have retaliated?"

"Of course. What kind of stupid question is that, Madeleine?"

Madeleine could feel the voice's indecision as if he was tempted to correct Katherine and say: 'This isn't Madeleine at all.' "Then what about Father? Do you think he would have done the same thing?"

Katherine was hesitant now, walking on thin ice. "Yes."

"So why would..._ I_-" Madeleine winced. A near slip-up. "-not of done the entire thing? If everybody lost everything, all of us would need to work together to get it back."

"I think I see... now."

"Good." And the voice retracted.

Madeleine quickly gained control again. _"Alright, you did what you wanted to do. Go away."_

_"I can't stay?"_ Madeleine felt his sassy attitude.

_"LEAVE!"_

A note was pushed up the pipe from Jane. Quickly unfurling it, Madeleine sped read.

_Congrats, Maddie! You did it! And you said you didn't have a plan!_

"I _did it," _The voice thought scornfully. _"_I. Me._ Not_ you_."_

_"Shut up," _Madeleine shot back. _"You're one of the rudest people I've ever seen, heard, or..."_

_"Ha. Like you could think of another word there."_

_"EXPERIENCED! Now GET OUT OF HERE!"_

_"Touchy, touchy..."_

Madeleine sighed, leaning up against the wall again. Maybe they were back together, but this was _still _going to be a long day.

* * *

The voice didn't remind her, since_ one _tough person had been won over, but there was a large itch in the back of his mind.

Luke was still missing.

* * *

AD: HAHAHAHA! Touche`, Madeleine. XP

WH: Luke, smack him for me, will you? He's getting annoying.

NS: With pleasure.

AD: OW! What was that for?

WH: For being annoying.

B: I honestly would swear that you three could keep it up all day. Just sitting there - annoying each other...

WH: I believe it sometimes.

AF: Of course you would. You'd be the one doing it.

B: True. Hey, Tom what's going on at your place?

MO: I believe that you've forgotten that 'my place' is a snowed-in cabin in Alaska.

AF: I forgot... O.o

B: Eh. Me too. Anyway, what's going on?

MO: A moose dropped by, if you want to call that 'going on's.

B: I HATE MOOSE!

AF: Meese.

WH: Then why aren't two footballs, feetball?

MO: Because when the referee calls out: FOOTBALL OUT OF BOUNDS! It would sound ridiculous. Think about it. FEETBALL OUT OF BOUNDS!

AF: And considering that you only have one football in the game, that wouldn't even be used?

MO: Oh.

B: Yeah, _duh_. So what did the moose do at your place?

MO: Ate pine tree banches that were suppose to be for the woodpile.

NS: Woodpile? You have like- an actual fireplace?

WH: _Oh, my, Turtle_... You don't know what a fireplace is?

NS: NO! I was commenting on that fact that it isn't GAS!

AD: Sure...

MO: Stop bothering him. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean that, and yes, the moose ate all those.

AF: The poor moose must have been hungry...

B: Pine branches are their food. You can't really ban them from eating their food unless to want to fatten them up on bananas and *shudder/sniff* kill them. (Seriously people, true story. Moose[or meese] LOVE bananas.)

MO: O_kay_, Jane. I wouldn't really mind, but the thing is, the moose went and decided to sleep on top of my trapdoor in the roof. So I'm litterly- _Snowbound_.

AD: Wait, but if you have a hole in the roof you aren't snowbound.

MO: Am. I can get out easily enough to get stuff, but I want YOU to try getting all my stuff out of this cabin through a 18' x 18' inch hole in the roof. PLUS DOGS! Can't forget them.

NS: Snowbound.

AD: Agreed.

WH: Okay. So I'm going to sign off here and start making dinner. I can hear Ed's stomach growling all the way in his office. See you!

NS: And... *cough* I actually... have paperwork to fill out. O.o

AD: Correction: he has a LOT of paperwork to fill out. I have to warm up some macaroni and cheese...

AF: Ew. Go shopping. Bye guys!

_*Wicked Harmony has logged off* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged off* *Anonymous Dude has logged off* *Art Freak has logged off*_

B: So, what are you going to do, Mr. Snowbound?

MO: Try and figure out how to construct stairs that the dogs can step up on, and then we can all get out of here. Then I'll clear the snow off the roof, cut a larger hole, bring the sled up, and I'm FREE!

B: Haha. Good luck with that. I'll see you in the spring when the snow melts.

MO: I GOT IT! gtg. I'll see you later- like- for Christmas. }-D BE AMAZED!

B: Okay. I will be- if you get out. Bye! :\

_*Brilliancy has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logged off*_

* * *

***coughs***

**I know you're probably commenting on the plotholes in the italic parts. I wrote this after I was done with the other chapters because while editing chap. 39, it turned out too long. So I split it, and then wrote the italic parts later. So I know, and have realized that the italic parts don't really fit in, but... I don't feel like tearing them all up and editing THOSE. So... *cough* Bear with me here...**

**Question: If two gooses are geese, why aren't two mooses, meese? And if two foots are feet, then why aren't two footballs, feetball? And I want to know why all you people cried on the last chapter. Really. *coughs***


	44. A GetOutOfJailFree Card

**For some weird reason, I believe that you -my readers- are going to enjoy this chapter. Don't ask me why, I just- believe that... O.o**

**- Hope; I know. My mom's concerned about 'health issues' so she doesn't even consider oatmeal cookies anymore unless... they're **_**really**_** good. She's a sucker for ice cream though. Both me and her are. XD**

**YES! SEE? I **_**KNEW**_** IT! I couldn't even BELIEVE what I had before there in Chapter four! Now isn't it SO MUCH BETTER? 9 OR A 10! YAAAAAAYYYYY!**

**- Voices in Head; Well, **_**duh**_**. What'd you think I was going to do? "Oh, it's just one of those stupid little anonymous reviewers again. I won't reply." I LIKE to reply. So- O.o Just... don't be surprised. XD**

**Ouch. I made the plank too narrow. Someone missed the boat. O.o Okay, Voice, let's see if I can make this clearer. When I say; 'the serum'. I mean the serum that brings back Malukajato (Maddie, Luke, Katie, Jane, Tom). Remember that the serum is made from a genetic line strand and is connected to the person/people of which the DNA strands are made up. ONLY Malukajato are connected in the vial that Maddie and Luke made. Not Gideon: not Olivia: not any of their decendants. So when you say that they; 'all come back'. Yes, it would be interesting, but only the DNA of the connected individuals will come back. :)**

**I'm sorry, Voice. Was that technical enough for you? ;) Thanks, by the way, for liking Forgiveness up against every other much better writer in the archive. You melt my heart. *sniffles* XD**

**- Sun; I was just wondering why. I didn't even know that I was 'pouring out Maddie's heart and soul' when I was writing it, so I was wondering why on earth it was so emotional. O.o**

**AD = Lucas. That's a confirmation.**

**- Chocolate; *wipes tears off of face* I don't know if you'll read this for a while since it sounds like you're on chapter 1-6. But I wanted to let you know just how much your fan mail encouraged me. I hope I was clear enough. And I updated chapter five!**

**- Zany; You asked about the trail on Mount Everest. Honestly, I don't know. That just- popped up out of my head because I needed a little thing Maddie could shoot back at Tom. I don't know if it's REAL-REAL or not, but it would cut time off, and you'd think that they'd have one. O.o**

**I wondered about the Feeling/Voice. I got confused myself writing it. But that's what happens when you're talking to two people at once. And one's a voice in your head. O.o If it helps any, Lucas' (Okay, okay... everyone knows now...) voice is italicized along with Madeleine's because they're not actually speaking. They're speaking into each other's head. Weird, I know, but it will make sense once Termination is halfway through. So remember this for about... Eh... twenty more chapters? Pretty please? /_ /**

**- Mist; Okay. I'll do that. Perhaps just because I'm the author, I find myself understanding the characters so much I forget to make them real to other people. *facepalms self***

**- To Everybody; I can't even believe I'm doing this. This is against my principles, against EVERYTHING. Curse you person who nominated Forgiveness. But anyway, I could really care less if The Problem with Shining the Moon wins the Madrigal Award. Forgiveness is an entirely different story. I've leaked my heart and soul into Forgiveness, and I'd *hint, hint* kinda like it if... it won. So... *squeaks* Could you just possibly click on this link to the Madrigal Awards and... *cowers / can't believe she's saying this* nominate... Forgiveness?**

**The Madrigal Awards - voting.**

* * *

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged on*_

MO: BOO-YAH! I IS FIRST ONE!

_*Art Freak has logged on*_

AF: Well that victory didn't last very long, although I AM astonished that you actually made it on time for once. Hello, Thomas.

MO: Your just jealous of me sweet climbing skills. Id like to see YOU ski halfway down Mt. McKenly!

AF: My eyes... BURN! Water- water- I NEED WATER!

MO: Jane...?

_*Art Freak has logged off* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged on* *Wicked Harmony has logged on*_

WH: Gee, Thomas, what did you do to Jane?

MO: Uh... Nothing, I think... She just- signed off.

NS: 'Nothing'. Yuppers. Absolutely nothing, Madeleine. Well, Thomas, It appears that Jane has run away to wash out her eyes because of your horrible grammar. You know, we NEED her.

MO: We do?

WH: YES! YES, THOMAS! _WE DO_! AND YOU SENT HER RUNNING _AWAY_!

MO: Oh.

NS: This tactic isn't working, Madeleine...

_*Brilliancy has logged on*_

B: Hello! Oh- I missed stuff. Oops... Let me go up and read...

NS: Hey, Katie. Be a good younger sister will you, and grab Jane wherever she's at. Thomas sent her running away, and we need her.

MO: I don't think she's REALLY neseccary.

WH: MISSPELL! Now MY eyes are beginning to burn. Maybe you should just stay quiet, Tom.

NS: HA! Like you would ever actually get that to happen...

B: Okay, caught up. But I think Jane just left my apartment. I don't know how to get her back... Maybe we should just start.

WH: I regretfully agree with the brillancy of my older sister. Let's begin.

NS: Oh, great... Not the brillancy with YOU _TOO_, MADS!

* * *

_November, 1996;_

**Chapter Forty;**

**A Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card**

Fiske Cahill hated cleaning. No, that wasn't even the right word. Fiske didn't just hate cleaning, he _despised_ it. He loathed brooms, hated vacuums, and utterly scorned Lysol. He considered cleaning a 'feminist' idea, and stayed away from it as much as possible. But sometimes, he had to admit it; his apartment was on the dirty side. 'Dirty' meant the floor was un-mopped, the fans hadn't been dusted in months, and the couch- God knew how many cookie crumbs were under the seats.

_Stupid dust._ Fiske thought, and pulled out an old rag that had been bought in the 70's. It had obviously seen better days. _Stupid asteroids that burn up in the atmosphere. If they didn't burn up, there wouldn't _be_ dust to clean._ The man yawned, bored as he plucked a few, roughly half a thousand dollar knick-knacks off his shelves. He placed them on the table, and turned away to wipe all the dust off the shelf and onto the floor, so he could vacuum it up.

Although Fiske's table hadn't passed it's fifteenth year, it had suffered the wear and tear of one person leaning on one side, three times a day, for fourteen years. There was a noticeable slant if you looked at the table. One side leaning heavily towards the ground. Almost all of Fiske's little knick-knacks had flat bottoms, but there was a glass vial leaning on it's side. It slid slightly towards the slant behind Fiske's back, then gathered speed. There was a fateful moment where the vial seemed to pause while falling, but Fiske knew nothing except the horrible asteroids that ruined life on earth because they burned up.

The vial hit the tiled floor, and flew apart, spraying purple liquid everywhere.

Fiske whirled around and his eyes flew open wide at the sight. A precious heirloom for five hundred years- destroyed. He glanced away for a moment to see what he could pick it up with, but behind his back again, the purple liquid dissolved away into thin air.

* * *

MO: BWHAHAHA! Hilarious. Fiske is always so funny. Asteroid dust... Who came up with that?

B: Fiske did. He told me. I asked him. But of course, he didn't like- THINK it like that, I just did it that way.

MO: Over-said much?

WH: Fiske came up with it, Katie wrote it.

NS: Let's continue. You first, Mads.

* * *

Madeleine felt like a net of purple had been suddenly thrust over her eyes. She pushed away from the table, seeing through a purple fog. From what she could see, it was almost like the black walls were- _dissolving_? That was impossible! But the deep black was turning to light black, and then to a dark gray. _Oh my God._ Madeleine spun around in a circle, staring at the room, and at the disappearing world that she had known for five hundred years.

_What's happening?_

Madeleine pressed her fingernails up against her wrist and pinched herself. It hurt. This was happening. _But _what_?_ Madeleine suddenly felt like she was being picked up and dragged towards the two peepholes at the front of the room. She gave a little yelp, and tried to hold onto the table, but her hands slid right through it. It was as if the table wasn't there.

The invisible force pulled her straight through the fading walls, and nearly into mid-air. For a moment, Madeleine's heart pounded. She could feel herself stuck in between two worlds. It was a curious sensation. Like being both hated and loved by one person at the same time. Then something popped. Madeleine suddenly found herself standing on the stone floor. She had grown. The stairs in the corner no longer dwarfed her. She dwarfed them. The stone walls around her looked like normal stones, not boulders. Madeleine ran her hands over them, feeling the cold smoothness. Questions whirled through her mind. _Something must of happened to the vial-_

"Madeleine!"

Madeleine turned towards the sound, only to be hit pell-mell by a flying girl in a yellow 1500 style dress, with short, shoulder-length blond hair, cropped as if she was Julie Andrews. _What in the world is Julie Andrews doing here? _"Who are-"

She never got the third word out. Madeleine was engulfed in a gigantic hug. Then the girl pushed Madeleine away, and held her at arm's length. Madeleine looked close. The girl looked about seventeen, her large blue-green eyes staring at Madeleine- laughing. A subtle beeping started in Madeleine's mind. She _knew_ this girl! "_Katie_?"

The girl nodded. "You look different. I- I guess I thought you'd be twelve again. You look so much older."

Madeleine flushed. "Hopefully not that old," Then she stopped, the immediate 'pretty girl' age-old instinct that not even Madeleine could quench, kicked in. "_How_ old do I look?"

Katherine laughed, eyes twinkling merrily in a way that Madeleine had never seen them do. "Not like that, Maddie. Seventeen. Or around that. We must all be seventeen if I look like that too. That's pretty sweet. Eternal youth for us!"

"Hey! Make room for me!" Another seventeen-year-old girl in a green dress with fiery red hair spun around the two. She was laughing, eyes twinkling with unconcealed amusement.

"Jane!" Madeleine let go of Katherine and waltzed around the room with her other sister.

"There you are!"

Both Madeleine and Jane gave frightened yelps as they were scooped up into a giant bear-hug. Madeleine hugged her captor the best she could in her squashed position, then made a face at him when he rolled his eyes at her hug.

Jane didn't share Madeleine's little-sister enthusiasm. "Put us down, you lug!"

* * *

MO: I remember that... I should have dropped Jane on the floor and set Madeleine down.

WH: Ha... I wouldn't say anything if Jane sees you said that!

NS: People, I have a meeting at seven. Let's move, move, _move_!

B: Correction, big _bwo-der_. It's WRITE, WRITE, _WRITE_!

NS: You aren't the only one who can think up dastardly, horrible punishments, Katherine. Start writing.

* * *

Thomas did, none-too-gently. Madeleine laughed as she picked herself off the damp floor. Jane scowled, but didn't say anything. "So," Madeleine glanced around the room. "How are we suppose to get out of here?" The other three blinked like the possibility they had to get out of the room they had been stuck in for five hundred years had never occurred to them.

Thomas didn't bother to explain his theory, but turned around and marched to the steps. Curious, Madeleine followed him. At the end of the steps was the frame of a casket with the bottom cut out. Thomas shrugged. "Pretty simple," He took the three steps in one stride and pushed against the door. It didn't open. He pushed harder. No success.

"Try shoving it," Madeleine suggested.

Thomas stepped down the three steps, paused for a moment, then flung himself at the door. There was a loud thud and the splintering of wood, but the door didn't open.

Thomas groaned good-humored-ly and rubbed his shoulder lightly. Madeleine winced and regretted she had ever mentioned shoving. _If Tom can't get it open, no one can._ She turned on her heel and scanned the room again, looking for another way out. For the first time, she saw the mural painted on the wall, opposite of the stairs. It appeared the artist had painted the life-sized siblings from oldest to youngest.

Luke was first, facing towards his brothers and sisters. His eyes were blazing, and he was in the posture Madeleine knew so well. _Where he doesn't want to stab, but he'll do it if he has to._ And then Katherine was next. The first daughter of Gideon and Olivia Cahill was facing away from her older brother, holding an old sextant. She had a wary look on her face, like she wasn't sure she could trust anyone. Madeleine knew how the girl in the portrait felt. _Betrayed so many times she's not sure she could trust again._ The brother next to Katherine was leaning slightly forward, fist clenched and muscles bulging. He was glaring full-force at the figure that was suppose to represent Luke. Madeleine winced. _It's just a picture Maddie. Don't go flying head-over-heels._ Jane had her body twisted away from all of her siblings, but her head was twisted over her shoulder, eyes pleading in silence. She was holding a harp. _Probably because she wasn't able to save her harpsichord in the fire._ Madeleine winced again.

Scanning her eyes over the figures, Madeleine looked for herself. But after Jane, the mural ended. _Truly forgotten._ Madeleine winced again. _Well,_ She tried to make her thought take positive roads. _The Ekats invented penicillin. We were the ones who used it. And Carbonic Acid! That too! They invented it, we used*__it._ Morale boosted, Madeleine nearly turned away, but something caught her eye. Just up and to the right of Katherine's head, there was a small figure in a black traveling cloak, running away from the flames. The face was unrecognizable, but Madeleine knew who it was.

She turned away.

"We could go out the other way."

Madeleine jumped at Thomas' voice behind her. "And that would be..."

"The catacombs."

Madeleine winced, mulling the option over.

"Is that where they keep their cats?" Jane glanced at Madeleine, directing the question to her.

"No, dummy," Thomas shot back before Madeleine could reply. "They're all the limestone tubes of Paris. They're just not filled with toothpaste. You know. The things where they put all the dead people when the graveyards got too full. When we walk into them, I'll bet there'll be maggots, hanging in clumps, feeding off of all the red flesh- turned brown- of all those dead people. And all the ghosts will start flying around, waving pitchforks at us, and the sailors will play the hornpipes to celebrate their victory of the the un-dead mortals-"

* * *

NS: Un-dead mortals, Thomas? Really? Are you _sure_ that's what you want to put there?

MO: HEY! We _are_ mortals.

WH: Correction. We ARE mortals now. We WEREN'T mortals then. We WERE REGULAR mortals before that.

B: Maddie's right.

MO: I love how all of you gang up on me. Always me...

NS: There is a reason for that. Perhaps it's because your brawn is bigger than your brain. Perhaps Katherine could kindly put together a formula that symbolizes the smallness of cerebellum thinking-

MO: HA! I would just... 'happen' to watch your back when I get back home, Luke. Seriously. Watch it.

* * *

"Thomas!" Madeleine 'accidentally' stomped on her brother's foot. He gave a yelp and quickly shut up.

Jane was ghost-pale, or perhaps, relatively paler than the usual ghost-like color she was. "_Really?_"

"Ignore him," Madeleine snapped. "They're nothing like that. Don't you remember? They were mostly carved out by erosion, and then the Parisians turned them into a 'graveyard' because the graveyards in Paris got too full. We'll just try and find the exit."

Thomas snorted. "There's one exit for the entire maze system. We could wander our whole lives up to our necks in bones and we'd never get out. And then we'll starve and the maggots-"

Madeleine turned around and glared at him. "What is it with you and maggots? Now, we're going to go in there, and find a way to get out of here. Besides, we're ghosts already. We can't die. At least, not that I know of. How bad can it be?"

The older brother's mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything.

"Alright," Madeleine took charge of the small party. We go in here, and we go out. When-"

"We go in here, _to_ go out," Jane corrected.

"Whatever," Madeleine waved a hand to brush the words away. "Tom, you lead the way. I'll stay back with Katie and Jane."

Thomas shrugged. "Suits me," He started walking into the complete dark of the catacombs - unafraid.

"It's dark," Jane suddenly whispered, looking out at the black you could wave your hand in and couldn't see the outline.

"It's dark when you turn off the light," Madeleine shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"There aren't half a million dead people in that dark. What if they're all sitting there, in their skulls, like we were on the mural waiting until someone comes and the maggots-"

"I told you to ignore Tom," Madeleine rolled her eyes. "Trust me, it's nothing like that. We'll be fine. The last I heard, dead men tell no tales."

"I want to hear tales," Jane murmured. Looking into the dark again. "It's scarier when there are none. You don't know who's lurking in the corners."

"Are you ready?"

Jane swallowed hard and nodded. "Ready."

Madeleine gently took her sister's hand and led her two charges forward into the dark. Suddenly she turned around. Her mind whirling. Then Madeleine pulled her hand out of Jane's and counted on her fingers to make sure. There were four Cahills. Not five. _Luke._ Madeleine mouthed. Her eyes scanned the dark, but almost-lit room that they had left. It was completely empty. _But-_ Madeleine frowned slightly. _Where's Luke? I know he was with us in the rooms._

"Hey, Maddie, you coming?"

"Yeah," Madeleine turned away from the room with the mural in it. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Perhaps Luke had gone ahead with Thomas. But in her heart, she knew he hadn't come up to her. He hadn't spoken to her since the day she had spoken out and said the truth. There was no promise to glue him to Katherine, Jane, Thomas, and herself. Madeleine swallowed hard to still the fear clogging up her throat. "I'm coming."

* * *

NS: Fear? Why fear, Madeleine?

WH: Why fear? WHY FEAR, he says. Can you even HEAR MY SARCASM?

NS: Uh... No. Because I'm sitting in my own apartment, snacking on Doritos.

WH: Fear. Fear because- hmm... Yes, Luke, I wonder _why_. YOU MURDER MY OWN HUSBAND AND I'M NOT SUPPOSE TO BE AFRAID? }:~(

NS: Uh, what IS that?

WH: It's a face. A mad/angry/furious face because I'm totally annoyed and angry at you.

NS: This was a while back, Madeleine...

WH: Oh, whatever. Forget it.

MO: Keep writting, Maddie.

* * *

"This isn't good," Jane whispered softly.

Madeleine heard her older sister, but didn't reply. She cupped her hands to her mouth again. Jane and Katherine quickly covered their ears. "_THOMAS CHRISTOPHER CAHILL_!"

No reply.

_Great_. Madeleine didn't know what to do. She studied the two forks carefully, weighing the different options in her mind. The left fork looked like it had more water dripping onto the floor, and the right fork was rockier with stones scattered at intervals along the gravel. In her mind, she knew that Thomas would probably choose the rocky fork. If there was more ground, then there was a higher chance of them finding the entrance to get out. But she knew that the watery one offered more adventure. Thomas wouldn't pass up adventure if it was offered to him.

"What do you think, Katie?" Madeleine turned back around to her older sister sitting on the ground in front of an intricate emerging map.

Katherine didn't respond for a few seconds. Then she rested her chin on her right hand and stared hard at the ground. "I don't know," She finally murmured. "I'm trying to remember the way the tunnels were carved out. I can't remember. I never really tried to memorize them, so it's not sticking in my head if it's left, right, straight or backwards."

Madeleine gave a slight groan. "Thanks. But we need to hurry. Jane's freaking out. I gave her a book to read, but I know she's going to toss it down soon since she can't read it that well in the dark."

Drawing one more line, Katherine straightened up, looking at Madeleine. "You know what just hit me, Mads? You. You act like you're older than Luke. Not like we're the ones that are suppose to be figuring this out, and you're the one that's suppose to be sitting in a corner sobbing like mad."

Madeleine made a face. "I don't sob."

"It was- It was- a- a-what-do-you-call-it. An- an-"

"An analogy?" Madeleine suggested.

"Yes! Thank you. No matter how talented you happen to be, just don't forget that you're my _little_ sister." There was a glance at Madeleine. "You don't wear a tunic and breeches, and you don't go plowing in the fields."

"This is 1996, Katie. There are no fields," The 'little' sister rolled her eyes. "Or breeches, or tunics, or plows."

"Whatever. If-"

"Hey, Maddie, whats-up?"

"Tom!" Madeleine whirled around.

Thomas was standing behind her, arms crossed. "Yeah, you called? I thought- like, you guys had, had a run-in with vampire bats or something. I saw a few of them when I was walking through here."

Katherine gave a startled yelp.

Madeleine shook her head, "We haven't seen any. There's probably only a few since the exit has to be- Exit! You _are_ sure that you saw a bat, right?"

Thomas shrugged. "I don't _know_. I just knew that something brushed me in the dark."

Katherine gave a violent shudder. Giving a glance at her older sister, Madeleine grabbed Thomas' arm and dragged him over to where both Katherine and Jane were out of earshot. "Do you know which direction they were flying?"

"They brushed past me in the opposite way I was going."

Madeleine frowned, thinking. _They couldn't of been bats. There definitely wasn't an exit where we came from. But what else could be down here?_ Or _who_. "Did you see anybody?"

There was a quick shake of the head. "Nope. Not a one. If I had, I would of asked him which way was out."

"Nobody would be here anyway..." Madeleine mused, thinking. "The entrance in Paris is like- a mile from here. There aren't any bones, so it's not like they would come this way for a reason. This one passage has to be here because it was hewed out naturally, and because it leads to the entrance with the coffin that we can't open. It couldn't of been a person, but-"

"Couldn't of been a bat." Thomas finished.

Madeleine nodded. "It doesn't matter. But you-"

"Oh! Get this!" Thomas suddenly grinned widely. "I figured that if we could get stuff from our branches that they invented, then we could still do it. See?" Suddenly two giant 120watt flashlights appeared in Thomas' hand. He turned one of them on and the rocky area around them was bathed in light. Jane and Katherine rubbed their eyes.

"Wow," Madeleine blinked as Thomas handed one of the heavy flashlights to her. "That'll make it a lot easier. But... do you think we ought to have a better- like- sort of communication? Once we go farther in, it's going to be harder and harder to keep track of the yelling."

Thomas grinned. "I already thought of that, too," Two whistles appeared in his hand. He tossed one to Madeleine, and kept one for himself. "Whistle once for 'yes', twice for 'no', three for 'help', and four if you found the entrance."

Madeleine nodded and gave him a soft grin. "We'll get out of here. Don't worry."

Thomas snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm not worrying. It's those two over there who need to be told not to worry." There was a final grin and Thomas strode off confidently. Taking the rocky right tunnel.

"The road less traveled..." Madeleine murmured. She turned on the flashlight and strode over towards Jane and Katherine.

"What did he say?" The oldest asked, nervously watching the bobbing pinhead of light disappear into the distance.

"He said to tell both of you not to worry," Madeleine poked both her sisters the best she could with the flashlight in one hand. "And that we're definitely going to get out of here. He said-" As Madeleine spoke, she almost felt something brush against her. She didn't feel it, it was almost more like a slight change in the temperature of the room. Something happened.

"What?" Jane caught the out-of-line, momentary expression with her quick, artistic eyes.

"Nothing," Madeleine waved it off. "I was just... cold there- you know, for a second."

Katherine narrowed an eye at her. "So what did Tom say?"

"He said that we should follow him." Madeleine slipped through her sisters and boldly let the way into the right tunnel. Katherine and Jane exchanged she's-a-nut glances before following after her.

* * *

_*Art Freak has logged on*_

MO: HEY! Whaddayou know! Jane's back! See? I _told you_ I didn't scare her away.

AF: Well thankfully, I am safely back in my own apartment with my eyes washed out. But DON'T EVER WRITE LIKE THAT AGAIN! Seriously. I am- Not. Kidding.

WH: Point taken. I side with Jane.

NS: Jane.

B: Jane.

AF: HEHE! _SEE_, Thomas? And now, I demand to write, because I haven't gotten ONE PART written. Luke nearly had a WHOLE CHAPTER TO HIMSELF! And that is TOTALLY unacceptable.

NS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. _Unacceptable_?

AF: Maddie's suppose to be the one writing this anyway. Not you, or Edward.

NS: So why do YOU want to write since both of us are... _'not allowed'_?

AF: Because you got to, dumbbell; and I'm a better writer than _you_ are. I deserve to write, too!

B: She's got a point.

WH: Yeah, yeah, fine. Whatever. Your turn, Jane.

* * *

A half a mile into the tunnel, the rocks weren't just little bits of marble that had fallen off of the ceiling, they were boulders. Huge chunks that barely left room in the tunnel for the trio to go around, or to climb over. Jane tried to keep herself preoccupied the best she could by making up figures that seemed to be locked in the stone.

_The Thinker,_ She thought lovingly, picturing the sculpture in her mind as she held her breath and squeezed through a crack left between the boulder and the tunnel wall.

"Hey! Hurry up, Jane! Maddie's already on top of the boulder in front of me!"

Jane gathered up her skirt and sprinted the best she could across the dark empty space to where the next boulder completely blocked the tunnel. She could hear Katherine clawing her way over it somehow. "Wait!" Panic began to seep into her as the noises grew faint. "Katie? Madeleine!"

Jane leaped at the enormous boulder blocking her way, grabbed a ledge, and desperately tried to kick her way up to the top. It didn't work. Jane was un-gracefully deposited on the catacomb's wet gravel in complete dark. There was no wild bobbing of the flashlight Madeleine held to comfort her. They were gone, and there was no light she could climb by. Getting a broken ankle underground, was to destroy the art of spelunking. But could ghosts even break their ankles? And she had already disrupted the 'cave rules' by leaving Madeleine and Katherine. But they had left _her_!

"Katherine! Katie, wait! I'm here! Please!"

Jane had never felt such a cruel terror as the one that seeped into her when there was no reply. She bit her lip in uncertainty, then remembered that a good lady never showed fatigue, or worry. The girl let go of her lip and tried her best to hold her head with the poise and grace she always had. The terror inside her didn't care how she looked. "Who am I fooling?" Jane sank against the boulder. She could feel her throat already clogging up with sobs. "The dark?"

There was a squeaking noise somewhere. Jane swallowed hard. _It's just a rat._ She tried to convince herself of that fact while she sat down on the cold ground, her back leaning up against the boulder. Something scuttled across the gravel. Jane could hear every step of long claws clicking on gravel that the 'something' took. _Just a rat._ She took deep breaths. _Rats don't do anything. Except- except-_ Jane couldn't think of anything that rats 'excepted'. She had never really focused on rats. Rats were... disgusting, ugly little creatures - that carried the plague.

Opening her mouth, Jane took a deep breath and slowly began to hum any tune that leaped into her head. Almost unconsciously, her humming grew louder, building up into the song that she had fallen in love with. She began to sing the words. Even though it was still dark, the fear inside her fell away. Jane stood back up. She didn't have to be afraid of any audience, not that she would be. She was under the ground.

For a while, the girl continued to sing, conscious of the fact that she didn't feel quite so afraid when she was singing, and that making noise scared off the rats.

Jane suddenly broke off mid-line on a high B. She could see. _Well, not exactly see._ She corrected herself. _But- but it's something!_ She whirled around. There was a faint glow of light just managing to show off the top of the boulder. Jane clapped her hands in joy. "Madeleine!" She cupped her hands to her mouth to make the sound carry better. "Maddie! I'm here!" The light on the marble boulder slowly grew stronger, and stronger, until Jane was able to see well enough to start climbing over the boulder. Pulling up her skirts, she began to pull herself across ledges towards her goal.

Jane reached the top of the boulder just as the giant flashlight itself was thrown on the rather flat platform of the boulder. Scrambling to the other edge, Jane reached down a hand and pulled Madeleine up the rest of the way.

Madeleine sank against Jane, squeezing her as tight as she was able to. "I thought you were behind us! Katherine didn't see you, so we stopped. And then we realized that you weren't anywhere near. We started back. And oh- God, Jane, I was so scared. I thought you'd fallen, or broken something. Katherine's waiting at the bottom of the boulder. You _are_ alright," Madeleine let go of her sister and took a step back. "Aren't you?"

Jane gave a hurried nod. "I'm fine. I would of caught up, but I couldn't see to climb up the boulder."

"I'm sorry," Madeleine whispered. "I thought you would of been faster." There was a pause, then the two girls turned around to the edge of the boulder. Suddenly Madeleine took a step back away from the edge. She swung the flashlight around in a 360 degree arc, eyes fearful.

* * *

NS: HAHA! I remember that! Maddie's face was PRICELESS!

B: You should have taken a picture. Kodak moment, you know.

AF: *giggles*

MO: And what are those little 'thingys' suppose to mean?

AF: They're asterisks. I was giggling at the 'Kodak moment' thing, so I put that there. It states what you're doing.

MO: Oooooh. Got it. *grins*

AF: Precisely. I'M NOT DONE THOUGH! DON'T WRITE, MADDIE!

* * *

"Maddie, what's wrong?" Jane peeked over the edge of the boulder to see Katherine staring up. "Is everything all right up there?"

"Maddie, everything is okay, isn't it?" Jane glanced back at her younger sister. The latter had backed herself up against the wall farthest from Jane, keeping the flashlight trained straight ahead. But Madeleine's eyes flickered wildly back and forth. "Maddie-"

"I am, officially freaked out." Madeleine breathed softly. Jane could barely hear her. For a moment, Madeleine's eyes lit on Jane to signal she was talking to her. "You know how it's a pretty consistent temperature down here. Not that cold. Not that hot. I keep getting chills." There was a pause as Madeleine watched the area in front of her. "And it feels like someone keeps putting a hand on my shoulder."

Jane's hand crept over her mouth. Her vivid imagination was whirling.

"I- I just can't convince myself that it's nothing. I can't," Madeleine breathed, almost to herself.

Katherine's head appeared over the rim as she pulled herself up. "Are you guys alright? I mean, come on down. Tom's probably already light years ahead of us."

Madeleine blinked. "Tom! Cover your ears." Katherine quickly slapped her hands over her ears. Jane copied her. There was an enormous pause where Madeleine drew in a breath, then she blew it all out into the whistle hanging on her neck. There was an ear-piercing squeal. Madeleine repeated the procedure two more times, then out of breath and gasping, she motioned that her sisters were able to put their hands down. Both of them did, cautiously.

"You're too loud," Katherine wheezed, looking slightly dizzy. Her equilibrium was most likely off.

"Sorry, but he's not going to hear it any other way," Madeleine shrugged regretfully as there was a faint whistle blow in the distance. There was only one. "Alright, he's coming," Madeleine eased herself down onto a ledge, and the three of them started down the boulder.

* * *

B: Yuppers. Me equilibrium was off. Blame Madeleine.

NS: Well, technically, _ scared Madeleine, causing her to call Tom, which threw your 'equilibrium' off. So perhaps you ought to blame... _.

B: I don't feel like it.

NS: Why do you not feel like blaming _?

_*The Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

B: Luke- I just don't feel like it. I was trying to create a minature black hole today, and I couldn't get the gas particals to collapse with enough power on themselves. I don't feel like being annoyed at _ right now. 'Anonymous Dude'- You had your turn! GET OUT OF HERE AND STAY _ANONYMOUS_!

AD: Why?

WH: L- Because you're not suppose to be on! That's 'why'! Katie- A BLACK HOLE? I WANT TO SEE! Oh, wait! I have the perfect place! Maybe if I can convince Ed to let me off for a while, we can take a trip down to Mexico or something like that, where nobody's there, you know, and do it! That would be SO COOL!

B: With those Vespers hauling drug cartels around? No, _thank you_.

AD: You could do it stealth-mode, like. That's what Maddie means.

WH: Perhaps you _can_ be on here for a reason... My translator.

AD: And you can be mine. See? I came on here for a reason. You need my help, all of you.

AF: Yeah. Right. Like that's ever going to happen. Okay, Luke, you ready?

NS: I is ready.

AF: I'll forgive your improper grammar this once. Maddie, why don't you look at your computer screen right now?

WH: Wait, what's happening? Stupid screen, it's- LUKE CAHILL THAT IS _**MY**_ CANDY BAR! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE IT! LUCAS GAVE THAT TO _**ME**_!

B: WOW! Did you guys here that? Quick! Copy and paste that post before she can edit it! MADELEINE CAHILL DID A BEAN SPILLER!

NS: Man, Dude. Belgium REALLY needs to get on my list of places to go. THIS CHOCOLATE IS AWESOME, MADELEINE! MM! See? One bite at a time! _Sweet... sweet... delicious_-

WH: I AM GOING TO PERSONALLY RUIP YOUR THROAT YOU BY THE ROOT AND DRAG IT THOROUGH THE DIR T SO YOU CAN NEVER TASTE YOU ANYTHING AGAINST AND LUCAS HELP ME! WIAT- IF YOU SO FINISH THAT BITE-

B: Wow. Second bean spill. Put this in the records people. She's typing so fast she can't even type right. Madeleine typing fast; that's a record in itself. :)

AF: Seriously. She actually sounds like she's being tortured. Wait- hang- hang on... What's going on? Luke, is your Sype screen still on? I can't see Madeleine anymore.

NS: AH! HANG ON MADS DON'T DO _THAT_! Oh. So much for enjoying my chocolate in peace. I think I need to pack and scram to China.

_*CONNECTION WITH WICKED HARMONY HAS BEEN BROKEN*  
__*CONNECTION WITH WICKED HARMONY HAS BEEN BROKEN*_

B: What, did, she _DO_?

NS: She broke her computer. At least, I can't see her on my screen anymore. Edward- ooo... Edward isn't going to be that happy with me...

MO: I was just listening guys, and not butting in, but SHE BROKE HER COMPUTER? That thing cost more than _SIX-THOUSAND_ DOLLARS!

NS: According to my computer she broke it.

B: And the chat room. The 'connection with WH has been broken'. Can't forget that.

NS: Wow. Think I should start running, guys?

MO: Yes.

B: Yes.

AF: Yes.

AD: No.

NS: ...

AD: HEY, WAIT! Stop chewing me out from the living room and let me explain, will you? Even if Maddie drives all the way to our apartment, flooring the gas pedal and running every red light she can find, it's still going to take her fifteen-odd minutes to get down here. You can finish up her chocolate bar in peace, and THEN you can start packing for China. Go to Bejing by the way, it's got better bathrooms than Hong Kong.

B: Better bathrooms?

AD: Oh, right, you guys have never been to China. Sorry. Anyway, the bathrooms in China- aren't... How do I say this?

AF: The most modern?

AD: Okay! Thanks, Janie. The bathrooms in China aren't the most modern you're going to find.

AF: JANIE?

NS: Chill, Jane.

MO: You know, Madeleine would be telling us that we've talked too much already. We should probably stop.

B: I have to agree with you, Tom. Okay. Bye, guys! Good luck, Luke. You're going to need it.

_*Brilliancy has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has signed off*_

AF: I do think they have a point. And you know Luke-the-Wanna-Have-Luck-Dude, I think I should probably start packing for China along with you. And perhaps we should go to Siberia, not just China.

NS: Nah, China's got like- 15 MILLION something people. There's no way she's going to find us in that. And thanks for the chocolate, both of you. That was SERIOUSLY worth it. OH, GEEZES! I HAVE THAT MEETING! DANG! Well, I'll never be able to show my face in public again... AHH! I'll have to call Vikram... WHY VIKRAM? Who knew so much torture could extend from promising you'd be at a stupid top-secret meeting?

AD: O-_kay_... Sorry. Well, I'll probably be the one escape-driving both of you to the airport... *gives digital goodbye*

_*Art Freak has logged off* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged off* *The Anonymous Dude has logged off*_

* * *

**Who hates the stupid astroids that burn up in the atmosphere just for the sole purpose of driving all us dusters nuts? (raise your hands...)**

*** - Okay, random spot, but I wanted to mention this. When I was typing, I typed 'sued' instead of 'used'. If I hadn't caught it, the sentence would go like this: 'They invented it, we sued it.' I almost died laughing... Typical of me, but with the two counteracting branches - eh. I had to mention it.**

**Question; Who was laughing when they read the chat-room parts? Please, tell me, because I spent a long time working on those, and I want to know if they were worth it. And Iris, (Iris you're going to get it!) Gets 25% credit with the 'washing out eyes' thing.**


	45. A Perfect Star Always Has Five Points

**Everybody; Forgiveness lost again, against Syberian Quest (of course). I now politely ask you to **_**stop nominating me**_** because it only gets my hopes up, and then I lose. RIGHTFULLY LOSE. I do not deserve to be thinking I'm something when I'm nothing. Now, if you can stop nominating me, I'll be happy. Thank you for listening to my request. I'm **_**quitecertainlypositive**_** that you'll **_**respect**_** it. *narrows eyes* *mentally forces people to obey her commands***

**- Sunshine; I take by the first two paragraphs, that you enjoyed the italics. :D**

**But how on earth could Luke 'brainstorm' his voice into Madeleine's head. Explain that to me, so I don't have to write an extremely long, annoying review reply. :)**

**- Hope; Your mom tries... **_**not**_** to buy ice cream because your whole family likes it? Haha. My mom will buy a quart case (very, very rare), give us about half, and then eat the entire remaining pint by herself. Then after dinner we always ask her what happened to the ice cream, and she's like- Oh, I ate it. It's funny, but rather disappointing. O.o**

**{Sunshine and Hope}; YOU- YOU DASTARDLY VILLANS! YOU- YOU PLOTLINE SPILLERS! YOU BEAN WRECKERS! YOU **_**DARE**_** ASK ME TO SPILL MY SECRETS? YOU **_**DARE**_** TO ASK ME **_**WHAT HAPPENS**_**? YOU **_**DARE**_** TO **_**DEFILE**_** MY **_**LIFE'S **__**WORK**_**! **_**FIND OUT**_** HOW EDWARD AND LUCAS GET BACK, YOU **_**VILE PERSONS**_**! (You know I was teasing there, right guys? ;) But there's no way I'm telling how on earth Ed and Lu get back! That's the entire point of the story! Continue reading! *insert scary Isabel laugh here*)**

**- Anonymous Person who Commented on Paint the Sky; I truly don't know who you are, but since you know about my story, I'm guessing that you've read my story/are reading this right now. Anyway, I would like to say that I DO include all the people. Olivia didn't 'somehow' die before the beginning of the story. Gideon didn't. I have **_**everybody**_** in my story, it's just a matter of FINISHING the story so you can see how I use my plotline! Seriously. Think about that. And another thing. I purposely made Forgiveness offline. I thought that 23 years across from Luke and Maddie was absolutely STUPID. So I fixed it, and made my own story.**

**And then to you and Iris- Paint the Sky isn't completely canon. Think about it. Honestly. The Black Book of Secrets / Book Nine stated that Gideon DID NOT know Olivia was with child before he died, and he didn't give them the clues /unfortunately/.**

**Can I mention something that was suppose to go into a review, but never made it there? O.o You said that Luke and the others drank the serum in hot chocolate. On that, hot chocolate was barely discovered in the 1600s. It only became the sweetawesomegoodness that it is in the early 1900s. *cough, cough* Just a notice, Iris. :)**

**So basically, I'm not offended by what you said, Anonymous Reviewer to Paint the Sky, but although Paint the Sky is canon, it's not 100% canon. And as for Forgiveness; keep reading, will you? Will you ever discover the end of a book if you don't keep reading it? Noooooooo. KEEP READING. (Unless you're so annoyed at me for these comments that you utterly hate Forgiveness now and will flame me. I don't mind that.)**

**Everybody; What happened to all those other reviews? It's like- nobody wants me to get past 200 or something. I'M AT REVIEW # 199 PEOPLE! REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dispicable Me, or hand grenades, or a shovel. My Dad owns a shovel, but (XD) not me.**

* * *

_*Wicked Harmony has logged on* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged on*_

WH: *silence*

NS: Uh... Maddie? I know you're on here. There's a symbol right above this that says you logged on.

WH: I hate you.

NS: Edward told me to get on here and write this with you. It's not like I WANTED to do it.

WH: I _hate_ you.

NS: Hate is a harsh word, by the way... Like- it would actually make a difference, me saying that to you.

WH: I _**hate**_ you.

NS: Feelings come, feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. Now, search your feelings, Madeleine. Take a deep breath and repeat after me-

WH: I _**HATE**_ YOU AND YOU'RE _**SO**_ DEAD!

NS: I'm not scared because this computer can't be tracked. NYAH, NYAH!

WH: Just- just _write_, Luke. Before I track that 'untrackable' line and MURDER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP USING A HAND GRENADE AND A SHOVEL!

NS: Wait, what? How on earth are you going to murder me using a shovel? I mean, the hand grenade I understand, but a shovel? Garden tools? You're resorting to garden tools? And all over a chocolate bar... Tsk, tsk, tsk...

WH: Write, before I pull out your brains and use them to tan a skunk hide like the Indians do.

NS: Dang, a skunk hide. I'm not good enough for a moose? Not even a deer?

WH: YOU AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR A MOUSE!

NS: Wow... Depreciated Moi... XP

* * *

**Chapter Forty-one;**

**A Perfect Star Always Has Five Points**

Madeleine wasn't frightened that often. That was usually because whatever was 'frightening' was there, in front of her. When there was nothing, you expected nothing, not something. _It's not something._ Madeleine glowered to herself. _It's nothing. It's just you._

Madeleine laid her index finger on the flashlight's button and flicked the light on and off. The chills seemed to have gone away, but she wasn't taking any chances. Katherine on Madeleine's right was drawing something in the dust. Jane on her left, was playing an imaginary harpsichord in the dirt. Madeleine didn't really think about doing anything, except perhaps make hand animals on the wall, but she was afraid doing that would show her hands were trembling.

The three girls sat in silence against the boulder until a clatter of small loose rocks rained down from the boulder ahead of them. The three stood up. "Tom?" Madeleine trained the beam of light where the mini-avalanche had started. There was no one there. "Hey! Speak up!"

There was still silence around them; wrapping the three in it's eery stillness. Madeleine almost felt the soft form of a hand resting on her shoulder. The hand wasn't like an actual hand. It could be compared to freezing water droplets, pressing through Madeleine's red dress onto her skin beneath. Shivers flung themselves up and down her spine. She felt herself begin to shake, and she couldn't stop.

"Maddie, are you alright?" Katherine turned towards her little sister, eyebrows pulling slightly together in concern.

Madeleine swallowed hard. "It's back. The hand."

Katherine bit her lip, eyes worried. "Don't worry," Jane wrapped her arms around Madeleine in a tight hug. "You're fine. We're here."

Madeleine nodded.

Suddenly, in full view of the flashlight, someone kicked up a shower of loose gravel and marble. Rocks rained down on the girls. But whoever had kicked it- wasn't there. In the same instant, there were twin screams from both Jane and Katherine, and identical thumps as both girls crumped to the ground.

_Thanks for that wonderful backup._ Madeleine groaned inwardly as much as she dared without fainting as well. "Who's there?" Taking a step forward through the clearing dust, Madeleine stepped up close to the far boulder. She turned around so her back was to the boulder and she had a clear view of Jane and Katherine on the ground.

The air around her felt like broken glass it was so still. _Where's the ghost?_ Madeleine couldn't help thinking about the chances of it being behind her. She whirled around on her heel and swung the beam of light in a 180 degree angle. _No ghost there. Please, please-_ She begged silently to herself. She turned around quickly, shining the flashlight for another 180 degrees. Madeleine could make out the forms of Jane and Katherine on the ground by the other boulder. But there was someone else.

The beam of light went back 90 degrees to the left, parallel to the boulder Madeleine was backed up against. There was someone doubled over laughing against the rock.

* * *

NS: Wow, Madeleine. I'm amazing aren't I. I'm the figure-

WH: I hate you.

NS: WHA? All I was saying, what that I'm-

WH: I really, _really_, really, _really_, really, _really_, really, hate you.

NS: Okay... okay... I'm hated. Fine. I get that. :o Like it's a hard thing to grasp with you, Mads.

WH: WRITE, YOU RISING BOLLARD!

NS: Rising bollard? Isn't that like- England-English for speed bumps?

WH: YEAH! And I SQUASH speed bumps!

NS: Speed bumps are made of concrete... O.o

WH: Write. Now.

* * *

Madeleine stared at the figure.

It was a young man, she could see that much. He had black hair, and he was doubled up, facing her, _laughing_.

Madeleine instinctively knew who it was. She hadn't known the young man all her life not to know him. _But this- now?_ "What are you doing here?" She breathed, stepping closer to the form.

The figure straightened up, still laughing. "That was the funniest-"

"You did that, didn't you, Luke Cahill." Madeleine's eyes flashed. "That's not funny. You just scared two of your sisters half to death!" There was a bit of curiosity in Madeleine's mind as to _how_ he'd done it, but the girl quickly made sure it didn't come to anything.

Luke gave a few final chuckles, and then looked straight at Madeleine. The girl's heart leaped into her throat. Luke looked so much like- like the same. He looked the same way Madeleine had pictured him, even after he was older than seventeen and they'd both grown up. Her brother hadn't changed a whit. But Madeleine knew that the outside didn't count. Those warm chocolate eyes wouldn't hold love. Luke's arms wouldn't be opening wide for her anymore. She knew that his heart was no longer open, it was closed and bolted with a rod of steel. The girl shrank away.

"Alright," Luke rolled his eyes and gave an expressive I'm-being-annoyed sigh. " I came here so that you four wouldn't be wandering in the catacombs for the rest of eternity. I went down both tunnels, and you're going down the wrong one. This tunnel loops around and takes you the long route to the entrance. It was an extra tunnel the French dug that was never used. The other tunnel goes underwater, but it's never completely covered, and you can walk through it dry enough."

Madeleine snorted. As the dust from the kicked up rocks was beginning to clear, Luke's form was becoming more and more visible. She could see his eyes. It almost surprised her. There was no malice in them for the first time in five hundred years. _There's no hate in his voice either._ She thought. But five hundred years had taught her not to trust. She took a step away. "That's so nice of you," She whispered as sarcastically, and as softly as possible without sounding mean. "What's this trap called? The mincemeatorator? The canning-machine-for-canned-food-for-cannibals?"

Luke stared at her, blinked, and then almost a look of confusion crept into his eyes. Madeleine saw it, but didn't move from her spot. How many pitfalls were there in the five paces between them?

"Maddie," Luke said the word slowly, rolling it off his tongue. Madeleine instinctively pulled away again. She could feel her heart ripping itself in two. Luke hadn't said her name for so long she'd forgotten what it had sounded like. The gentle way his eyes had shone. Memories flooded from locked cabinets and Madeleine struggled wildly to hold them back. "Do you remember-" Luke paused again, looking off into the distance behind Madeleine. "Do you remember what you said? That one day when you finally spoke up. Do you remember that?"

Madeleine kept her eyes carefully trained on her brother. "Yeah, of course I remember. Why?"

Luke's gaze still didn't focus on her. "What you said; it made me think. About everything." Luke's mouth trembled for a moment, then slowly formed the words he wanted. Madeleine could see the acute pain in his eyes. It was something she'd never expected to see in him, and it scared her. "I was thinking about us, before the fire. And before Katherine and I started arguing. And then- far back, Lucas-" There was a soft pause. "I don't know why Father never told you about him; Jane and Thomas, too. I know they don't remember him. First for the fact that Jane asked, and next, because Thomas wouldn't care, even if he did know. He couldn't remember, and he wasn't old enough to want to, even if he could.

"Katherine never cared much," Luke's mouth twitched down in an almost unnoticeable tinge of distaste at his younger sister. "But we-" There was a slight lick of the lips. "We were the same age, him and I. And- and we were always together. I still-" The words were suddenly cut off. Madeleine relaxed slightly, leaning against the rock. There was no trap here. Her automatic warning system was silent, anyway. "I still don't know how I go on. Lucas wasn't just a brother, he was a friend." Luke's eyes turned and bored in on Madeleine, pinning her in place. "My best friend. And sometimes there are people in life you just can't forget. Lucas was one of them."

Luke's eyes faded back off into the distance. "When you were born," He breathed. "I hated you. So much. I remember wanting another brother. Just like Lucas. Then maybe we could leave off just where we started. I guess I knew it wouldn't be the same, but I still wanted him. When you were born, I felt- I felt like- like-" Luke searched for something to compare it to. "Like I'd ordered a pizza, and the delivery man gave me a pepperoni instead of a pineapple. "And you were the most annoying thing ever. You would copy anything anyone did in front of you. If Mother got a carving knife and was peeling the autumn apples, I'll bet you would have got a knife and sliced your own hand off trying to do the same thing.

"But you were _funny_," Luke whispered. "And even before you were even one, I remember you making me laugh. And being so glad I had someone who could make me do that. Finally."

Madeleine hated the analogy that Luke had decided on while he was speaking. Even though she was a ghost, the speaking of a 'pizza' gave her the illusion she was hungry. Her mind wandered from Luke, wondering what a pizza tasted like anyway. In her vacant eyes, Luke extended a hand, still talking softly, brown eyes so warm it seemed like she was engulfed in a vat of thick chocolate. She took the hand, then suddenly felt something unexplained. He was holding her hand; both of his hands wrapping around it and holding hers. _I'm suppose to be _taking_ the pizza._ Her mind instantly blinked her back to the present.

Luke was smiling wryly, one eyebrow cocked lazily in his laughing manner.

Madeleine hadn't seen that expression for five hundred years. More, to be truthful.

"You weren't listening to me," Luke chuckled softly. "Were you?"

* * *

NS: You _NEVER_ listen to me.

WH: That's not true! I do listen to you- sometimes...

NS: More like- 'I do listen to you- most of the time when I actually want to listen and when I'm not being distracted by whatever's around me.' How's that?

WH: I still hate you.

NS: Never said you didn't. In fact-

WH: Let's remember that this is in the middle of the chapter, shall we? _Write, Luke_.

* * *

"I was!" Madeleine snatched back her hand, suddenly aware of the fact that there was only a few feet between them. He must have stepped forward somewhere along the line.

"But you didn't hear a word I said. Come on, parrot something then."

Madeleine stared at him, desperately trying to make sense of the mumbles in her memory. "I- I was... _distracted_." She finally squeezed out. "But I _was_ listening!"

* * *

NS: _SEE_?

WH: No, I don't 'see' in fact. I see typed letters on the computer that are forming words. I cannot see the past, other than the pictures in my memory.

NS: Madeleine...

WH: Well, I don't!

NS: I stated that you don't listen unless you actually WANT to listen, or you're not distracted. Please. You were thinking I was offering you a PIZZA? How on earth can you get more distracted than THAT?

WH: I could of thought you were handing me a leash with a dog on the end.

NS: God... Please, spare me. I actually have you as a sister...

WH: And your sister's thinking of disowning you because you ate my BELGIAN CHOCOLATE BAR! I HATE YOU!

NS: Geezie! Okay, okay... Chill, Maddie. I'm writing, I'm writing...

* * *

Luke rolled his eyes. Yet as Madeleine watched, there was no anger. There was just a balance of exasperation and patience. Patience for- _her_. Patience for the murderer who had killed their parents. This couldn't be a trap. Her throat locked, sobs beginning to creep through. _He can't be lying!_ Madeleine clenched her hands at her sides, controlling her emotions. _He can't be!_ But she couldn't let herself trust him. She couldn't let herself feel that pain again; that knife of betrayal that had ripped her apart and shattered the pieces over the ground- till Edward had picked them up. There was no Edward this time; no savior for those pieces. She was her own survival.

"Shall I repeat what I said? Or shall I rant on and just leave you in the dust?" He was joking. Of all things- _joking_. _Luke_. Luke Cahill, Edward's murderer, _joking_.

* * *

NS: Seriously? That's what you were thinking? Lame, Maddie...

WH: SHUT UP!

* * *

"Keep going," She whispered.

Luke studied her, peering intently into her face, then he went on in the quiet voice he had before. "But eventually," He whispered. "I loved you, just as much as Lucas; more than Mother, perhaps even more than Father. I-" Madeleine looked up when his voice paused. Luke was still taller than her. Not by that much, but the top of her hair only reached his forehead. But when did Luke Cahill ever hesitate? "I _trusted_ you, Madeleine," He finally whispered. "I _trusted_ you. I don't know how else to describe it. I trusted you more than Katherine, more than Jane; more than anybody I've ever trusted in my life, except- maybe Lucas. When you set the fire-" Luke didn't finish his sentence, and his lips were set in a thin straight line.

Madeleine looked at the dirt and gravel she was standing on. "It was all my fault," She swallowed hard. "All I wanted was for us to be together. I thought if the house was gone- we would be _forced_ to come together. We'd have to work together to build another one, and then..."

"But, Maddie," Madeleine stared up now at her older brother. He was genuinely... _confused_. She had never seen him so clearly that way, and for the first time, he wasn't trying to hide it. "What was wrong? Why? Why did you have to split up our lives? Why-" Suddenly he paused. "Why five hundred years later, you're finally looking back and seeing that our lives then, _didn't have to_ be that way."

"Wait," The words were out of Madeleine's mouth before she could stop herself. "I _knew_ what was going to happen. _This_, was going to happen. You and Katherine were only the _beginning_." The accused sobs began to rise. "The _beginning_, Luke. And Father's serum was only tearing us apart more. He wasn't there for us when we needed him because he was too _busy_ doing that! And Mother; you knew Mother. Mother would have _died_ if our arguments had continued, and she was the only friend I had. The _only friend_!"

"But I was your friend, Madeleine." Luke was hurt now and defensive. "Katherine was your friend. And Thomas, and Jane. We all _loved_ you, Maddie."

"No," The black-haired girl stomped her foot childishly on the gravel. "_No_, Luke. I was your assistant. I was Katherine's helper. I was Thomas' person to tramp the roads with. I was no one's _friend_. Nobody. _Nobody_, not _one_ of you, _ever_ loved me for who I was. It was all because I _understood_ you. Edward has been the _only_ person I have ever seen, in all my five-hundred years who loved me. Who loved me for who I was; for the girl that I was _inside_.

"_Edward_ was my friend," Madeleine didn't need to cry now. She could feel the words inside her, the truth, but the stinging jab; the uppercut that would rid her of Luke once and for all. "Edward was my husband; my life..." Madeleine swallowed hard, the inner pain beginning to consume her, even though she still didn't need to cry. "Edward was my _soul_. He was the one person who I could tell everything, and he would still love me- even if it hurt. He sacrificed everything for me; and I gave my all to him.

"I _loved_ him, Luke."

The brown eyes across from her were wide with fear; with an open-masked expression that said nothing, but told all. Then they turned away from her: he was unable to meet her eyes. "I came here..." He finally whispered. "For forgiveness. I thought... that- that if Katherine, and Jane, and Tom... But-"

His voice ended, but Madeleine's pain didn't. It tripled. Puzzle pieces clicked instantaneously together in her mind, and increased the pain. Luke was already turning around, leaving; for good this time. Utter relief. She wouldn't have to worry about him again. But he was her _brother_. Her big brother; and without Edward, there would be nobody else. Love would be gone entirely from her life, in a final, decisive cut.

"Wait!" She didn't even realize her hand was out until Luke was grasping it; his fingers curling gently around hers. _But Edward..._ For a moment, she wanted to pull her hand back, but she didn't dare. "I-" The words were so close. Right there. Right on the tip of her tongue. But Edward held her back; Edward and Hope. Little Hope, who had never known her Father, and who's Mother was stolen from her so young she had grown up in the arms of her sister.

Could she forgive him for that?

Was letting the past go, letting in the future? Was it letting in a new life, like the one she would've had?

Madeleine licked her lips slowly, too aware that they were drying out. Could a ghost's lips even do that? "I forgive you," She finally whispered. The hand gripped hers tighter, begging - _pleading_. "I forgive you for- for everything."

She didn't realize she was crying until Luke's hand crept up and wiped the tears away.

* * *

WH: O.o You missed a spot, Luke.

NS: What? Where? What'd I miss?

WH: Up two lines, about the middle.

NS: Hang on... What? There's nothing wrong.

WH: : - P Liar. You know what you missed.

NS: I missed- OH. Ha. Like you are EVER going to get me to write THAT.

WH: I don't know, I think that's a pretty even thing. You stole my chocolate. I can BLACKMAIL YOU WITH THIS!

NS: Um...

WH: Yeah, NOW you're scared! BEHOLD MY POWER!

NS: Okay, wait a second. _YOUR_ power? Who DID that so you could even HAVE that power?

_*Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

AD: Oh, oops.

WH: Why are you here? It's just Luke and I writing this chapter.

AD: Ah, well I told Tom to come on here so he could give me some tips for climbing Everest. We were going to try and hit the books for the CHEAPEST Everest climbing ever.

NS: Cheapest? O.o

AD: Yeah. The catch is, you have to go to China and barter for all the stuff so you can get it for a lower rate than you would buy it on Ebay or something.

WH: Makes sense, but you better call him and tell him not to get on here. Luke and I still have a page-odd to get done.

AD: His cell phone got buried in an avalanche on McKinley.

NS: He alright?

AD: Of course, Dummy. How could we be planning the cheapest Everest expedition when he's not okay?

WH: O.o

AD: You guys like those stupid little eyes too much_. O.o_. Yeah right. Okay, that's it. I'm checking out of here. If Tom comes on, tell him I scooted out.

_*Anonymous Dude has logged off*_

WH: He talks too much.

NS: Agreed. YOU talk too much.

WH: I still hate you. Start writing again.

* * *

Luke could feel Madeleine's tears beginning to sink through his tunic. The urge to pull away from the source of the wetness was irresistible, but the source held him there at the same time. Fighting the pull, Luke wrapped his arms around his sister and rested his chin softly on top of her mess of black curls. Suddenly there was a sniff from the general area where the tears were coming from. A very visual image of snot dripping down the front of his tunic dominated Luke's mind. He fought the coming cringe.

_Thanks, Mads._ He thought as silently and as sarcastically as possible. But even as he thought it, there was no anger. Rather startled, he reached for the spot in him that had always flared up the quickest, burned the longest, and settled down the least. It wasn't there. Well, not exactly. The spot was still there, but less. There was no anger at anyone, not even at the sister in his arms. She was his little sister again, finally. Not the murderer, or the Person, she was the one who had forgiven him over unsurmountable odds. _Forgiven. _Luke's throat clenched tight suddenly with a strange feeling that had never hit him before.

Pushing it down, he searched for the cause. It was difficult, a part he had never looked at before inside of him. But it had grown; grown to the point where it could be recognized and found. Luke felt the feeling inside engulf him and his sister, putting them in their own little world.

Madeleine stood up though, wiping tears off her face and out of her eyes. Embarrassed, most likely.

Luke looked down directly at the dirt-stained, tear-streaked face. He was reminded slightly of a long-ago fuzzy memory where he and Lucas had been 'helping' Gideon in the fields. Lucas had been a bit more attentive, but a short, three-year-old attention span combined with plowing being 'boring', Luke had turned away within the first ten minutes. The twins had coincidentally played in the dirt till their Father was done.

Smiling, Luke remembered the small lake they'd passed on the long route home. How they had looked at their reflections and laughed. Luke gently reached out and slid his hand under Madeleine's chin. He brought it up with his index finger, making Madeleine look him in the eye. "I don't know if anybody has ever told you this-" He breathed. "But you look just like him. Even your height. You're probably a little shorter than he would have been."

He watched the red blush creep up Madeleine's cheeks, coloring her face. Her arms were wrapped around his waist with a vice-like grip, stating forcefully that she didn't plan to let go anytime soon. Yet the lace cuffs on her red dress were dirty, smeared with the grime of the catacomb rocks. "What- what was he like?" Her face turned up towards him, eyes pleading softly. "Lucas, I mean. Do- do you think he would have... liked me?"

"He would have loved you, Madeleine," Luke brushed her cheek with the back of his right hand. It cleared a bit of the dirt away, revealing the pale, white skin beneath. "I'm sure of it. And I'm positive he would have been a better brother than I've been."

Madeleine tightened her arms around him. "But, what was he like?"

Luke paused, looking up at the ceiling. "He was kind," There was a soft kiss on the forehead of the girl in Luke's arms. "Kind- kinder than anyone. If someone asked him for help, he would undoubtably give it; perhaps not in the way the asker wanted, but he would still give some form of it. And he was so funny. He was the only person that could make me laugh - besides you, that is. And- and..."

"What?" Madeleine pushed Luke far enough away that she could look up easily into his eyes. They were smiling softly, in a caring way, so different from the look of hate he had always worn.

"And he looked like you; so much like you, Madeleine." Luke sighed softly. "I would never be able to tell you enough, and there's so much my memory's failed me about. But he would have loved you," There was another brush across her cheek. "I'm positive about that. If he hadn't died..."

"Why did he die?"

There was sudden silence. Luke could feel the memories tying him down with painful precision. Madeleine was still in his arms, but confused now- wondering. But Lucas. _Lucas_. Why had he died? How had Gideon, with all his alchemy, been unable to create something for Lucas, just like he had done for Madeleine? Sure, taking the master serum was fatal. All the rats used in the lab had died; but taking it from the blood? Why hadn't their father thought of that sooner? Why _had_ Lucas died?

Luke hesitated for another reason. The lie. Lies had dominated him his whole life. They had always weaseled him out of tight places, but this was a tight place that had to be faced. It would be better, in the long run, wouldn't it? Luke swallowed hard, waiting for Madeleine's push away from him. "It was my fault."

"Why?"

Of course. The inescapable 'why's. Lucas had been that way too. Nothing had ever satisfied him. There was always the 'why' tacked onto the end of an unsatisfactory explanation. "Because I was the only one who could save him, and I didn't."

"But- but, Luke, I don't... I don't think I understand."

"You don't need to," He let his sister loose and gently pushed her away from him, then he turned around. "It was my fault, and that's all you need to know about it."

Silence.

He could feel Madeleine's green eyes boring into his back, wanting more answers, but understanding his pain, and complying with it, like she always did. For the first time, he wished she could just think of herself like anybody else would have done. It was such a bother to answer all those 'why's; support her, and encourage her, too._ But worth it._

Luke heard the soft crunch of gravel as Madeleine walked up behind him. "He'll always be with us, though," Came the murmur from behind him. "Maybe not here, but with us. In our hearts. You'll never forget him, and I won't either."

Luke smiled to himself, although he didn't turn around. "You never met him, Maddie-girl."

"But I know what you've told me about him," Madeleine's voice was gentle and endearingly innocent, yet there was something hard behind her words; there was more than just comfort in them. "I know he's my brother, and- and I love him, even though he isn't here. And I know you love him. I can tell."

"I never said I didn't love him. In fact, I believe I stated the exact opposite."

"I re-stated that fact," Madeleine shot back. "And I'm not debating you."

The chuckle was out before Luke realized it. He turned around slowly, then slowly met Madeleine's eyes. "Thank you," He whispered. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Maddie; any of us," There was a still pause. "You know, in the old wives' tales they always say that the last child is the best. I think I believe them now."

A small smile spread itself over Madeleine's face, and she reached out for Luke again. He hugged her, more than aware of how much he'd missed the weight of his favorite sister in his arms.

* * *

WH: Awww... How _sweet_... BLACKMAIL! COPY AND PASTE! COPY AND PASTE! GOT TO PRINT AFTER I COPY AND PASTE!

NS: MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL, IF YOU SO DARE... you are _DEAD_!

WH: Oh, yes, Luke... I hate you, too...

NS: MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL THAT IS _**NOT**_ FUNNY!

WH: Oh, oh, oh... Try and catch me now! Oh, oh, oh... It's too late-

NS: TAYLOR SWIFT IS _**NOT**_ GOING TO SAVE YOU!

WH: It's to late... TO CATCH ME NOW!

NS: Curse you, Madeleine. Curse you and stupid Taylor. Curse you and Jane, because Jane sings. Curse- what else is there to curse?

WH: The chat room?

NS: CURSE THIS STUPID CHAT ROOM THAT YOU MADE!

WH: Alright. We must write now...

_Five Minutes Later;_

* * *

"So, how _did_ you manage to scare the two of them out of their wits?" Thomas gestured vaguely in the direction of Katherine and Jane who were still slumped, lifeless, on the ground.

Luke shrugged. "They were frightened enough."

"No..." Madeleine shook her head, scrutinizing Luke. "Then I would be knocked out as well if that was it. I was pretty frightened too, and I'm not going to hide it."

There was another shrug from Luke as Madeleine gently propped Katherine up against the wall and began lightly slapping her cheeks. "I'll tell you when all of you are good and awake." Madeleine rolled her eyes.

"Oh! Forgot! So, Maddie, you won't believe this!" Thomas strode over to where Madeleine was sitting and crouched down on his heels. Katherine wasn't responding to the light treatment, so Madeleine began slapping a bit harder. "When I was way up there, the boulders were like- really, really big. And there was this one, huge one where you had to crawl through on your stomach. And I got stuck. I don't think any of you would have had a lot of trouble. But anyway, when I got out of that, there was a plaque, and some bones. It was really, really, super old. So I'm figuring if we just go all the way there and start following the plaques, maybe we can get out of here. It can't be that hard."

Madeleine glanced at Luke and noticed him frowning slightly. He met her eyes and gave her almost an imperceptible shake of the head. Madeleine nodded back. "Perhaps..." She murmured softly, and smiled at Thomas, giving him the stark illusion his idea had been accepted. He hadn't seen any of her 'conversation' with Luke, so he was blissfully ignorant of whatever ideas they had come up with together.

After a few minutes of slapping, both Katherine and Jane woke up. They were mildly surprised to see Luke, although nothing appeared overly odd to them. Standing up, Madeleine waited for everybody to gather into a ring, then she quickly gestured to Luke- showing him he could start talking.

* * *

NS: Poor Tom.

WH: Yeah, being ghosts wasn't bad. It was actually kind of cool. I mean, it was funny when people's eyes bugged out when something just- appeared in your hand.

NS: XP

WH: XD

NS: O.o

WH: O~O

NS: :| ? (What WAS that last one?)

WH: :P (A guy wearing glasses. You didn't get it?)

NS: XD (I see that now. But not then.)

WH: :o (Seriously? I mean, there's the bridge across the nose, and then the two BIG ROUND lenses...)

NS: Bo (Yeah...)

WH: :/ (What was _that_ last one?)

NS: :) (That was... TECHNICALLY suppose to be a surprised person. His eyes were bugging out.)

WH: :D (I can see that!)

NS: :-D (Try and guess that one.)

Wh: }:o (Thinking... Oo! I know! It's like- a party hat! The guy's going to a party!)

NS: :) (Got it! You try.)

WH: /*_*\ (You're taxing my knowledge of emocons, dude.)

NS: I give up. I don't know.

WH: It's a rockstar, see?

NS: Gee, Mads... A rockstar emocon... How did you come _up_ with that?

WH: Ha. Good question. I didn't. Jane did.

NS: Ha. Fits. Hm... You know, that was kind of fun.

WH: True. Guess this one. }: o D

NS: A... weird... version of the party dude?

WH: Nope, it's a clown. See? The 'o' is the nose, and he's smiling and wearing the clown hat.

NS: Good one! ~ _ ~

WH: Give in.

NS: He's sleeping... _Or_ he fainted. Either one.

WH: HA! Okay! I like that one. It's cute. You know, I don't even think I'm mad at you anymore. It's a pity, because I was going to have you give me ALL your barbeque potato chips or show those last paragraphs to Edward.

NS: That's nice of you.

WH: Yeah. I'm waiting for the last sentence. 'And you know, Madeleine. You really ARE insane.'

NS: And you know, Maddie, you really ARE insane. There. That work out for you?

WH: I think you can come back from China now.

NS: Wait, HOW'D YOU KNOW?

WH: Easy. When you left I just went onto the internet and scrolled up on the chat page. It was right there. You and Lu are _bad_ secret keepers.

NS: Notwithstanding that you and him-

WH: BEAN SPILLER! Okay, this is getting long. We ought to probably stop and just- meander off doing something else... And you need to book your plane flight..

NS: Right. Plane flight. See you, Mads!

WH: Bye!

* * *

**Yes. /*_*\ The rockstar emocon. Don't ask me why I came up with it, or how. I just did. Can you see the rockstar though? The long hair that drives me insane?**

**Question; How many people liked this chapter AND the chat parts because they actually tied into the story? Who has watched Despicable Me? WHO'S VISITED THE FANFICTION SITE? I have... hehe... ~ _ ~**


	46. In2 the Tech Age

**Sunshine; You're great. :)**

**Hope/Shelly; Wow. You must have been busy! Four reviews... Gee. Anyway, you now have a plate of cookies to celebrate your 200TH REVIEW! COME CELEBRATE PEOPLE! *throws confetti* *hands Hope a plate of virtual chocolate chip cookies* *gives Hope ice cream* And congrats as well for getting an account! I'm flattered at your loyalty. ;)**

**That's so funny. A 'taste'... Now for the questions. *stares long and hard at the computer***

**Answer #1: No, they are no immortal. Wait- yes they are. They're ghosts. Just... wait a minute, and try to pay attention to where the story's going. :) By the way, how could they possibly tell their children to break it? Oh... before... Hm... *thinks* Well, they... could, but it wouldn't fix into the story.**

**Answer #2: *sigh* Can't you be patient? Try waiting till... the fifteenth something chapter of Termination. :)**

**Answer #3: No, that was not randomly put into the italics. I said it for a reason. But be patient, padawan. This time, probably to the epilogue in either Coming Full Circle. Enjoy the wait. There's a soda next to you on the end table. :) No, they're not in jail. And I loved your hint. I guess that you're a fan on TPWSTM, too. :) ;) Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. :)**

**Everybody; Thank you! You've really encouraged me with Termination and all. *hint, hint* Termination's italics are *cough* funnier than Forgiveness'. *hint, hint* I encourage you all to review and tell me what you think ought to be improved. And if you comment on my plotline skills, I will loveyouforever. :D (LOVE YOU, CLOVER!)**

**For some weird reason, people are thinking that the story is done. Again! No, you still have four-five chapters to read before the story is done. Believe me. I will TELL you when the fic is done. I've already written out the ending to TELL YOU that the fic is done. I WILL NOT leave you hanging. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die. :)**

**Heads up, people. But the italic parts are REALLY long this time. I think they're hilariously funny, but if you don't have time, don't bother reading them. Come back and read them another time, or something.**

**Because they are LONG.**

**No kidding.**

* * *

_*Anonymous Dude has logged on* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged on*_

AD: Ah... Home sweet home. Wait- that's not cool! You ate all the popcorn!

NS: Seriously? Well, I'm sorry I ate all the popcorn. Go make another bowl. And then, just TYPING 'you ate all the popcorn' is like texting me from across the table and saying; 'pass the salt'. It's incredibly SAD that even us 1500's people are getting too 'digital oriented'.

AD: Fine. _Just_ to suit you, I'll make another bowl. JUST to suit you.

NS: Why did you repeat that? Oh, you're gone... Popcorn... Okay... *is silent*

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged on*_

MO: VOILA, WORLD! I AM HERE! Now what'd I miss?

NS: Scroll up and look, dude. Seriously.

MO: You seem to like that word. S_er_-e-_ous_-ly.

NS: What was that?

MO: What I imagine you saying it like. S_er_-e-_ous_-ly, dude.

NS: I will not lose my temper... I will not lose my temper... I will not lose my temper...

NS: LOST IT!

AD: HEY! QUIT IT! It's not like popcorn's going to stain your teeshirt or something! And it was YOUR foot that was in that stupid little crack between the coffee table and the couch!

NS: Well it was YOUR eyes that aren't even BIG enough to see where you're GOING! STEP OVER THE STUPID FOOT!

AD: You're calling your own foot stupid?

NS: I DID NOTHING OF THE KIND!

_*Billiancy has logged on* *Art Freak has logged on*_

B: Where ARE you guys now? Still in China? And yes, to answer the question I know is coming; Maddie leaked where you were. And honestly, I would've gone to Siberia if I were you.

AD: Oh, yes you did. I can copy and paste those word to Wordpad, print it, and shove the paper RIGHT IN YOUR FACE to make sure you see it. Hey there, Katie.

NS: YEAH. Like that would ever happen. Did you know I can become blind if I want to?

AD: What?

B: GUYS! STOP ARGUING! You're wasting precious space on the chat room! Maddie limited the thing where we chat to fifteen hundred characters PER PERSON.

AD: K. Lts all typ lk ths then.

B: And Maddie using up all her characters asking what the heck we're talking about? SHE CAN'T UNDERSTAND TEXT LANGUAGE LIKE YOU CAN! HEL-_LO_!

NS: I have to agree with Katie. And where's Jane? I see her little 'entrance' notice on top.

AF: I'm here. I was just silently listening to your conversation that is just- SO mature that it would totally BLOW Gandalf away.

NS: I have NO clue who 'Gandalf' is, but I can hear the sarcasm dripping from your every word. :-P

AF: How does Maddie even stomach you?

_*Wicked Harmony has logged on*_

WH: Because he can be awesome when he wants to be. Okay. Now all of you, let's write. NO WRITING IN-BETWEEN SECTIONS! I'm serious here. Save your comments till we get to a line break and THEN comment. And I'm serious about the whole 'fifteen hundred chars' too. Anybody who passes the limit will automatically be ousted for the rest of the chapter.

AF: Maddie, explain to my 'bir-_ill_-e-ant' brother who Gandalf is.

NS: Are you subtlely implying that I'm mentally _insane_?

AF: Oh, wow! I didn't see that. That is SO COOL! Hey, Katie! Do you want to switch usernames?

B: I'm not a great fan of art. No thanks. And Luke, Gandalf is the Wizard in Lord of the Rings. Remember that?

NS: I'm picking up something... Yeah, now I do. Let's start writing before we use up all of our characters now.

WH: SOMEONE GETS WISE! AMAZING!

* * *

**Chapter Forty-two;**

**In2 the Tech Age**

"We're ghosts," Luke stated simply as a way to start off the conversation. Everyone waited, suspiciously silent. Luke's eyebrows twitched down slightly, nearly meeting in the middle. "Well..."

"We know we're ghosts," Madeleine explained the silence. "How do we get out?"

Luke stared at her like she was crazy. "But that's the whole point. We are, _ghosts_."

There was a quick roll of the eyes from Madeleine. "Explain so we can understand, please."

Luke groaned. "What do ghosts do?"

"Say 'boo'?" Jane offered.

She got a slightly disgruntled stare for her efforts. "What else? Since none of us have obviously said 'boo' yet."

Jane flushed, meaning she just grew a little less pale than she already was. "Walk through walls?"

"So-" Luke gave another disgusted groan when nobody replied. "If we are able to walk through walls, then what _else_ would we be able to do?"

Suddenly Madeleine's face lit up. "So is_ that _how you did it?"

Luke nodded.

"Hey, did what?" Katherine butted in. "I'm getting left out of the conversation!"

Madeleine turned to her sister. "Do you remember what happened before you blacked out? That's not really important, but when you were knocked out, that's how Luke could do this!" Madeleine disappeared into thin air. The other three siblings who weren't use to understanding 'ghosts' blinked nervously. And then Madeleine appeared on top of the large boulder that was nearer to the end of the tunnel. She stood up, then leaped down into the dirt. There was an impish grin on her face as she did it. Jane was the only one besides Madeleine to hear the sound of petticoats ripping.

Luke shrugged, once Madeleine was back in the group. "It also appears that you can go anywhere you want on the globe without transportation. It's something like teleportation, I _think_."

"AWESOME!" There was a howl from Thomas. "I WANT TO GO-"

"Nowhere," Katherine suddenly snapped. "You are going nowhere. Do you actually think people are going to believe you when you're wearing a tunic and breeches from the 1500's? We have no clothes, no money, no-"

"You can get them for us though, can't you?" Madeleine looked up questioningly at her older sister.

Katherine thought for a moment, "Yeah, I mean- I guess I could. But I don't know anybody's sizes, so we'd have to get the clothes together. I can get the money though. Even though it'd probably be better if Luke went."

Madeleine quickly shook her head. "You know what to do, so you need to go. We'll stay right here, and then you can find us when you're done."

Katherine shrugged, nodded her agreement at the rushed and hurried- nearly non-understandable request, and disappeared.

* * *

NS: I don't know _how_ you missed that, Jane...

AF: Eh, neither do I.

* * *

_Two Hours Later;_

Madeleine leaned against her brother, fighting sleep. There was one arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her a bit closer to him, and her head was nestled tightly next to his shoulder. She could hear Jane laughing a bit in the background. The last time Madeleine had checked, she and Thomas had been playing 'Attack of the Mutant Clones' on a laptop Jane had 'created'. From their periodic yells, she guessed that both of them were on level twenty.

Luke shifted his position beneath her, and Madeleine waited for whatever he was inevitably going to say. "Why isn't Katherine back yet?"

Madeleine shrugged, closing her eyes. "Maybe she had to stop for something."

"That's obvious," He snorted. "She would be back yet if she wasn't delayed."

Madeleine opened one eye. "No, 'delayed' means that something caused her to be late. She also could be 'busy' and/or what she's doing took longer than she thought it would."

"Same thing," Luke rolled his eyes, exasperated. He still kept his arm wrapped tightly around his little sister.

"They're very different," Madeleine corrected him, both eyes closed again.

"Same," But Luke didn't press the argument. The slow warmth of something that he didn't know, crept through him. Almost unconsciously, his head leaned up against Madeleine's, and then a smile spread over his face as his eyelids slid shut.

"I DID IT!" The howl rang out through the catacombs like one of Madeleine's whistles. Both Madeleine and Luke's heads shot up. "I DID IT! Beat THAT!"

Madeleine peeked over Luke's lap to see why Thomas was yelling. Jane's red hair seemed redder than it usually was as she stomped around, kicking gravel at the walls. Thomas waved the laptop around in the air as his victory mark. The top screen flapped up and down, in danger of falling off. Apparently the latch that kept it closed had already been broken. "What?"

MO: And I DIDN'T break that! Jane did! She was pressing the 'fire' button so ha

* * *

rd she snapped the key!

WH: Didn't I tell all of you to SAVE YOUR STUPID CHARACTERS?

AF: For some reason that sounds strange, Maddie...

NS: Okay! Keep writing. Save characters... Must do that... Must not get ousted...

WH: You're going to be the first one if you keep it up, Luke. Shut up and stop commenting on everything.

* * *

"I WON!"

"Well, won what?"

"Attack of the Mutant Clones! I WON!"

"Okay," Madeleine waited. "We've established that. Did you win anything?"

Thomas stopped in mid-yell, "Ah..."

"No," Madeleine finished for him.

"Well, not exactly. But I get the honor of being the highest-scoring Attack of the Mutant Clone player in the history of the game. When is Katie going to be back anyway?" Thomas changed the subject abruptly. "Seems like she's been gone forever."

Madeleine shrugged. "She'll be-"

"You won't believe it, guys!" Suddenly a familiar figure appear in the dark -lit by a row of L.E.D., Tomas-invented flashlights.

"Katie!" As she scrambled up, Madeleine was suddenly seized and given a hug by an excited Katherine.

"So I got everything. It took forever! I mean- I had to hack into the branch account, hijack five thousand, and then I had to put it in my account. Then I had to withdrawal five hundred for each of you, and so here." Madeleine suddenly found a small 2x5 plastic card thrust into her hand. "And then there's fifty cash. I didn't want to do any more than that, or the bank might get suspicious. Then once we've done everything, maybe we can-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Madeleine turned around. Luke had stood up, and had both hands up in an I'm-lost motion. "Repeat that- _slow_." Madeleine glanced around and noticed everyone had gathered in a circle. The others nodded after Luke's words, agreeing with him.

Katherine sighed as if 'retelling' pained her. "Alright. So I went and I took out a thousand from the main account that's open to all the Ekats. They just had a few simple questions you needed to answer to prove you were an Ekat. Like- how old was Einstein when he died? And - if two cars were a mile apart, what's the formula you'd need to have to pinpoint the place of collision if they're both going 50 mph."

Katherine's brothers and sisters looked blank. Except for Madeleine, who was thinking hard. "Well, anyway, that part was simple. Then I set up accounts for each of you. Debit accounts. "Madeleine looked closely at the little card she was holding. It had a bunch of numbers on one side, and a bunch of lines on the other. "There's a hundred fifty in each of the accounts." Katherine continued. "And then I pulled out fifty cash from my account for each of us as well. So all of us have 150 in the bank, and fifty cash. Good math, right?"

Madeleine nodded to make up for the other blank faces. "I'm guessing you have a plan for later on as well."

Katherine's face lit up. She nodded excitedly. "I found this _super_ cheap store where they sell really cute-"

"GUCCI!" Jane howled. She ran an entire circle around Katherine and Madeleine, grabbed Madeleine's shoulders- shook her like a ketchup bottle, and disappeared.

"Did she eat anything?" Madeleine whispered dazedly. Luke caught her as she stumbled backward.

"Red dye number 40," Katherine murmured under her breath, rolling her eyes. "And she left before I could give her these. Here..." Reaching her hand into her pocket, Katherine pulled out four phones. "They have tracking devices on them, so we can all see where we are in the world. They'll help us stay together too. When we-"

"I CAN BUY CUSTOMIZED JEANS!" Jane suddenly reappeared, grabbed Katherine- and shook her older sister like a ketchup bottle. "DID YOU KNOW-"

"_Cool it_," Thomas gently stepped on his younger sister's toes and held her arms so she couldn't move.

"BUT- BUT I wanted-" All the fight went out of Jane and she sheepishly stared back at her siblings. "Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away."

"A _little_?" Katherine muttered under her breath, then she looked back up, having full attention again. "Well, here." She handed the phones out- one for each sibling. "We can all go together, or separately I guess. It doesn't really matter. But we all have to meet on Bunker Hill in an hour. Alright?"

"Sure," Madeleine had recovered sufficiently from her shaking to nod without getting dizzy. "We'll be fine."

* * *

AF: Yes, Katherine. I got a ittsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy chipish carried away.

B: Please. Chippish? YOU LIFTED YOUR 115 LB SISTER 'LIKE A KETCHUP BOTTLE'! How on earth, Jane, does that make you just a 'ittsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy chipish' carried away?

AF: I don't know.

B: *groans in frustration and disgust*

NS: More frustration than disgust. Can't forget that.

B: *groans with frustration and disgust, but with more of the former, than the latter*

WH: You're writing pretty well, Kate.

AF: I agree with that. Okay. Back to the story.

* * *

It was with great exasperation Madeleine discovered that her siblings had not been loafing for five hundred years. It was also with great apprehensiveness Madeleine allowed herself to be talked into going to New York. _New York's in America, _Was her figuring. _America is in the Northern Hemisphere, and excluding Canada, Americans speak_ English_!_

It wasn't exactly the fact Americans spoke English that scared her. She had mastered the language after only a few weeks of studying it. But still- English wasn't French. And she wasn't that good truthfully. She still got mixed up with the 'was' and 'were'.

Of course, Jane was jabbering on nonsensically in English about how easy the language was and how simple it was to master it. They were walking around in the park near the Eiffel Tower, trying to find some place where people wouldn't see them disappear. Katherine finally butted in. "And what's so bad about French?"

Madeleine waited, less concerned about the conversation, and more concerned about the argument that might pop up. She was quite aware of the protruding fact she had lost an argument earlier about whether going to Kmart, or 21 Forever was better. Jane, had wanted whatever would look better. Luke and Thomas abstained, but Katherine pointed out that it they were going to be stuck at 17 forever, they might as well go to a store that suggested that form; even if people didn't realize it, and didn't care. Madeleine had argued until Luke finally suggested they should go. So Madeleine lost. Finding a way to get back at her sisters was going to be hard though. And fixing up an argument was no way to go about doing it.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Jane replied slyly, in German, looking out of the corner of her eyes at her sister. Madeleine sighed with relief. If there was no argument, there could be a simpler, attack-plan format. Perhaps slipping marbles under the 'welcome' mat of the 21 Forever store would work.

"Well it's your native language," Katherine shot back in Egyptian. "I should hope so."

"All we need to do, is speak English." Thomas groaned. He was speaking in a dialect of Chinese only Madeleine understood. "You guys are making this _way_ too complicated."

Luke shot a quick, crafty smile at Madeleine. He choose to speak Spanish. "A different language for each sentence. I like this game."

Madeleine couldn't resist the teasing. "Fine," She groaned in Russian. Desperately trying to think of a out-of-the-way language she had bothered learning. "I'm in. Whoever can come up with a language nobody else understands, wins."

"Jane has a fat butt," Thomas said quickly in Japanese, which earned him two slaps- one on each cheek, from Jane.

"That was rude," Katherine poked Thomas in the side. She spoke in one of the many Polynesian dialects. "Be nice."

Luke glanced at Madeleine, who was still thinking of her 'unique' language. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently hugged her. "Once this guy passes us," He spoke in Portugese. "I think we can leave."

Stating the first thing that popped into her head, Madeleine chose Italian. "I still don't want to go to New York," She blurted out. "It's loud, big, and annoying... and- and _different_."

"You can't be- be... that scared of- of- of... of 'different'." Luke stumbled over the Arabian words, his face twisted in an expression of thought.

"I'm not scared," Madeleine spoke in Navajo. The most complicated language she had mastered. It had taken her two years. "It's just- noisy. I like other places better."

The others stared at her. Only Madeleine noticing the man had passed them, and they were clear to leave. "What was that?" Jane murmured, speaking plain French again.

"I'm not scared, it's just noisy. I don't like noisy that much, so I like other places better."

"I think we have a winner," Katherine muttered under her breath. "What _is_ that suppose to mean anyway?"

Madeleine switched back to French. "It's Navajo. You know, the Navajo Indian dialect? I was saying; I'm not scared, New York is just- noisy. And I don't like noisy that much. I was hoping to go someplace- quieter. Less people. You know."

"Navajo," Thomas muttered under his breath. "I should have known. Well, let's go before we have to wait again. Someone's coming."

The siblings simultaneously disappeared.

* * *

AF: I DO NOT HAVE A FAT BUTT!

WH: You already slapped Tom for that. Are you going to do that again? Where IS Tom anyway?

MO: Present. I'm just reading through the stuff. I'm saving characters.

NS: Well SOMEONE seems to take ole' Ben's advice seriously. Anyway, Mads, how on earth were you going to stick marbles under the 21 Forever store mat?

WH: What advice? Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise? Some of those sayings were the stupidest things ever come up with by man. He was wealthy and healthy and he stayed up late doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in France. As a matter of fact, Ben really _wasn't_ that healthy...

NS: Okay, fine. His own advice was pretty stupid. But what about the marbles?

WH: That was just a random idea I had. I was trying to think about what to insult you guys, but would take the least amount of work from me.

B: Thanks...

WH: Yuppers! Anytime! Let's write now.

* * *

"... So we're really from-"

Madeleine Cahill stared at her sister. Actually, that was an understatement. Luke, Thomas, Jane, and Madeleine Cahill were staring at their sister. They were also wondering at the same time how long it took for someone to be put into an insane asylum. Definitely not long for someone who was claiming 'time travel' was possible.

"Okay," Madeleine pushed Katherine out of the way, putting herself in front of the weirded-out cashier who was trying to scan five pairs of jeans while listening to people who claimed they were from the 1500s. "Do you _actually_ believe her?"

The American cashier's eyes flickered around. "Am I suppose to answer that?"

"You don't have to." Madeleine shrugged. "But trust me, my sister _loves_ to make up stories. That is NOT what happened. Do you want to know what _really_ happened?"

"Sure." The cashier started scanning shirts. Madeleine knew she didn't have much time. She could feel Katherine glaring at her for interrupting the 'true' story of what had happened.

"Okay. So- these really dumb people. They went and invited us to this stupid costume party. And the costumes- they were like- all suppose to be from the 1500s. So that's why we're dressed like this. Then we all went there, and we forgot our other clothes. So technically that's the story. And we have to walk around like- dressed up all dumb like this. Then we came here so we wouldn't be stared at like we were totally insane while walking around. That's the real story."

The cashier looked relieved as he handed Madeleine a bag full of clothes. "You can use the dressing rooms over there. If you want to. And here's a pair of scissors for the tags."

"Hey, thanks!" Madeleine took both gratefully, then practically herded her siblings to the back of the store. Then she tossed the others their clothes and dragged Katherine over to a corner in the back of the store. "You owe me_ big-time,_" She hissed.

Katherine didn't respond, she just took her clothes and went to change- disgusted.

* * *

WH: Now that was FUNNY! The clerk's face was AWESOME!

B: Mortifying if you ask me...

NS: Why'd you do it then?

B: He asked me why we were dressed like we were! I- at least, am TRUTHFUL, Madeleine.

WH: Yeah, yeah. Well, I saved your butt from a mental-insane asylum. You ought to be THANKING me.

MO: Ha. I agree with that. May I ask, though, why we're like- writing/jumping all over the place? What about the crazy old lady who started pointing at Maddie and said she was her 'long-lost sister' or something like that? What about the parrot in that stupid birdcage and he WOULD NOT shut up?

NS: You shouldn't have been teasing him with all those 'Polly wants a cracker?' lines. Might have saved you some trouble down the road.

MO: Yeah, yeah. Okay. Fine. Whatever. But that didn't answer my main question.

WH: We're just highlighting the main points. And actually, that last section didn't really _need_ to be in there, I just thought it was funny, so I put it in.

AF: And that WAS funny. So- last section? I'll start off.

_One Hour Later;_

* * *

"So what's next?" Jane didn't even look up from her crossed-legged position, making a grass necklace out of all the blade of grass she was plucking. "We can't just continue sitting on a deserted Bunker Hill forever."

Madeleine looked out toward the sea. The light reflected off it, and it showed a beautiful picture with the sun behind everyone.

"Maddie," Madeleine felt a soft hand gently shaking her shoulder. "Maddie, Jane's right."

Madeleine rolled over and slitted her eyes against the sun. "We can do whatever we want to do. Technically."

Luke gave a heaven-help-us sigh. "I'm not sitting forever on Bunker Hill. Come on." Grabbing Madeleine's wrist, he pulled his sister up to her feet. "You're the one who knows what we're suppose to do. Right?"

Madeleine gave a noisy exhale and turned towards the sea again. "That's what I was thinking about."

"Well," Thomas pushed himself off the grass. Madeleine could see a football defense strategy drawn in the dirt where he'd been sitting. "In that case, you can start sharing."

"It's not that simple," Madeleine wiggled her hand inside Luke's, gripping it tightly. Luke squeezed gently back. "It may seem simple- what we've done," She whispered. "But it's not. Fixing it isn't going to be."

She caught everybody's attention with that.

Madeleine could feel her siblings wondering about what she had said, but she didn't want to bother and explain everything at that instant. A ball of perpetual bitterness lodged in the pit of her stomach. She knew it was true. It wasn't going to be easy healing all the damage the five of them had caused. It wasn't the easy road to travel, but it was the right one.

Glancing off at the sea again, Madeleine swallowed hard. "We have to stop what we've started. We have to go to Vikram, and Bae, and Ivan, Cora, and Grace and stop this. We're the ones that have to prove Cahills _can_ live together in peace. We just have to teach ourselves how to do it."

"That's not going to be easy."

Madeleine looked up at her oldest brother and she shook her head slowly, eyes saddened. "No," She whispered softly. "No, it's not going to be."

Luke squeezed her hand again, giving her a reassuring smile. There was a watery smile back.

"Alright," Madeleine turned around at the sound of Katherine's voice. "I'll see you again soon, Maddie. Call if we're not back here in an hour or so."

As Madeleine nodded to Katherine, there was a heavy, yet gentle slap on her back. "Same thing for me, Mads. See you soon." And then both Tom and Katherine were gone.

Madeleine let go of Luke's hand long enough to give Jane a hug. "See you soon, Mads. Be careful."

Then Jane was gone as well. Only Luke and Madeleine were left on the lonely hill. When she looked downward, Madeleine could see the people milling around, looking at the signs below. Nobody wanted to climb the hill apparently, famous as it was.

"I guess I'd better be going." Luke finally breathed. "I'll see you soon, Maddie. Stay safe will you?" He teased her a little. "No skydiving and bomb-defusing for a while."

Madeleine let go of his hand and gently gave him a hug. "Soon," She whispered. And then both siblings disappeared.

* * *

NS: Like, she actually listened to my advice...

WH: Like, you actually talk too much...

AF: Like, Maddie's right...

B: Like, why are we talking this way?

MO: No clue.

WH: Don't know. I just thought it'd be cool.

MO: Yuppers. _Kool_.

NS: 'Kool' is an inappropriate term used for 'cool'. The term 'cool' is also an inappropriate term for, 'cold'. And 'cold'-

B: What happened? Luke just disappeared.

AD: BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! LUKE IS OUSTED! 1500 CHARACTER LIMIT! NYAH, NYAH!

WH: What _happened_ to you, L, anyway? It was like, _you_ disappeared after the second section.

AD: Nah, I just shut up and let you guys talk- saved my characters so I could totally rub it in Luke's face later. He's scowling at me right now. XP HILARIOUS! Wait, let me see if I can take a picture with my Sype cam...

AF: SEND IT TO ME! NOW!

AD: Jeezes, Jane. Let me take the picture now, will you? It's loading... loading... loading... Luke's trying to- OW! QUIT IT!

WH: I love how you're actually able to type; OW, when you hurt. Pure digital magic there people.

AF: Disney!

B: PIXAR!

AF: Cars!

B: Finding Nemo!

WH: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark! *o*

MO: O.o You disrupted their Pixar-Disney theme there, Maddie.

WH: So what? Indi is AWESOME. And so is Hans. And so is other dude who plays in that other movie with the same guy that played Hans and Indi. Completely skipped my mind...

AF: Correction Mads: HARRISON FORD IS SO AWESOME HE BLINDS PEOPLE WITH HIS UTTER AWESOMENESS!

B: And the movie you were thinking of, Mads, is The Fugitive. AWESOME MOVIE!

"Why are we talking about movies?" Luke asked.

WH: Okay. WHO DID THAT? WRITING IS OVER!

MO: Not me.

AD: Not me.

AF: Not me.

B: Not me.

"I did," Luke crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Madeleine. "Go jump off a cliff if it annoys you."

WH: GET OUT! YOU'RE BANNED! YOU TALK TOO MUCH!

"Go jump off a cliff," Luke sat back and began to eat virtual popcorn.

B: I actually think I have something I need to do now, so I'm just going to- ah... log off- quickly...

AF: Ditto.

MO: Ah... ditto what Jane ditto-ed and what Kate said. Bye.

_*Brilliancy has logged off* *Art Freak has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logge off*_

AD: There is NO WAY I am going ANYWHERE. Yack it up you two!

WH: L, shut up. Luke- GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE! How are you even ON?

Luke just rolled his eyes. "Elementary, Madeleine. You learned it in 1764. You blocked me chatting, but you didn't block anybody from _typing_. So techincally, you can't even kick me off."

AD: O . o , to * o * , to ~ _ ~

WH: I thought I told both of you to shut up.

AD: Like that's ever REALLY going to happen. Sorry, Mads.

WH: Why can't I hold a grudge like every other decent woman in this world? I SHOULD HAVE KEPT YOU IN CHINA!

"Ouch," Luke rolled his eyes. "Like eating rice and chow mein with chopsticks for five years would kill us."

WH: YOU'RE DEAD! DEAD! YOU HEAR ME? DEAD! _DEAD!_ DEAD! _DEAD!_ DEAD! _**DEAD**_!

_*Connection with Wicked Harmony has been broken*_

_*Connection with Wicked Harmony has been broken*_

AD: Yeah, I think we're dead, dude. Chuck China. Let's hide in the mountains of Siberia this time.

Luke frowned, thinking for a moment. "Siberia has mountains? I thought Siberia has steppes. And anyway, couldn't we dig a hole under the steppe and live there for a while?"

AD: I'm not partial to that.

Luke snorted. "Of course you're not. You're rich city boy who-

AD: THAT IS NOT TRUE!

"Is."

AD: NOT!

"IS," Luke rolled his eyes. "Remember, who actually lived longer than-

AD: NOT! And Maddie would say you're bean spilling.

Luke rolled his eyes again. "Yeah. Whatever. We're going to go halfway across the world to hide from her. Now we're talking too much."

AD: Point taken. I'll start packing.

_*Anonymous Dude has logged off*_

* * *

**So now do you see what I mean? TOTALLY too long, but TOTALLY hilarious at the same time. I don't even know where all these ideas are coming from, but they are funny. So I guess I shouldn't ask... Right?**

**Question; How did you like Katherine's approach to blurting out everything?**


	47. Hardened Hearts

**Hi; Your full answer is far too complicated for me to state here. Let me summarize it like this so you don't have to go back and read the entire story again. Madeleine made a vial. The vial's serum was condenced of all the children's DNA with alternates, enabling them to survive once they'd died and bringing them back to life once the vial was broken. Is that alright?**

**Ashley; Your comment was the only one that made me laugh harder than Shell's. Yes. Madeleine broke her computer again; yes, Edward was mad, and yes, he was upset about the six thousand dollars needed to replace again. (And yes, just between you and me, he scolded her.) ;)**

**Hope; I laughed. Need I say more? (duhhhhh) Yes. For all you people who are relying on Shell's question. YES, Hope and Arthur are still alive at this point. :)**

**Sunshine; My vacation? What vacation?**

**CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY WHO IS READING THIS! YOU ARE TWO CHAPTERS AWAY FROM FINISHING THE LONGEST STORY IN THE 39 CLUES ARCHIVE! KEEP READING! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!**

**:D Hope that encouraged you. ;)**

* * *

*_Art Freak has logged on_*_*Brilliancy has logged on* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged on*_

B: Present. Well, what do you know. Two other people on! Wow!

AF: Present. Except Tom and Maddie. I wonder why Maddie's late. She's usually on time...

NS: Present. You can say that again.

B: Should sombody check on her? O.o

NS: You're not recruiting me to go. No way.

AF: In your _dreams_, Katherine. *begins singing* _WHEN THE COLD OF WINTER COMES-_

B: JANE! SHUT UP! God... I'm already on bad terms with the apartment manager. I don't need another complaint for them to kick me out. No. Wha- I DON'T _CARE _ABOUT _FRODO'S MEMORY_!

NS: Then in that case, I would just... take your own advice. O.o

B: *facepalms* Fine. I'll call...

NS: *hums*

AF: *sings random parts of songs to annoy Katherine*

B: *slaughters Jane while yelling at Madeleine over the phone*

AF: *can't be slaughtered*

B: *is annoyed*

AF: *is excited; her plan has succeeded*

B: SHUT UP, Jane. Honestly! The college couple below me DO NOT like The Lord of the Rings. I've asked them. And I highly doubt they like the songs. And Madeleine says that she's feeling ill today.

NS: BOOYAH! I am _**GONE**_, PEOPLE!

B: HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! Hold up! Maddie said that we should write ourselves. We do know what to write anyway. It's not like Maddie sitting and staring at our backs is going to improve our writing. Wouldn't improve mine. : P So we'll just- write.

AF: Okay. I'm all for it. I'll go first!

B: Hold up there! I'm not finished! Maddie said that we have to wait for Lu and Tom first before we start.

AF: *whines* _W-h-y?_

NS: Thanks, Jane. You actually know that you're whining and you still write it? I thought whining was an off-limits, un-lady-like demeanor.

AF: That position has been modified. Have you been to the grocery store lately?

NS: DO. NOT. REMIND ME!

AF: Precisely. Whining in 2011 has officially reached the I'm-your-Mom-and-I'm-going-to-shove-a-DSI-down-your-throat-because-I-don't-like-your-whining-and-don't-actually-want-to-fix-the-REAL-PROBLEM stage. It's sickening.

B: You're getting more scientific-statistic-y, Jane. I'm amazed.

AF: It's not that hard, honestly. When you stand in line for nearly an hour waiting for this mom and her kid who's hollering bloody-murder and WILL-NOT-SHUT-UP you get a pretty decent picture.

NS: _**So. True.**_

AF: Do you remember what Mother would do to us if we whined? Out back to the woodpile. DOUBLE-TIME. I don't remember a time when I whined and she 'didn't' have time to take me out back. It was a manditory consequence. You whine = spanking. Now moms today have what? MODERN CONVENIENCES and they STILL don't 'have time' to spank their kids and kick the whininess out of them.

It STINKS.

B: _FORMULA ALERT!_ p (person) + w (whine) = S (SPANKING)! COOL! But I actually... haven't really been to the grocery store lately. That would probably be why I'm snacking on the last of my seaweed snacks right now... O.o

AF: Ew... Go to the grocery store. Like- _now_.

NS: We're going to use up all our characters, people. Somebody should call Tom and get him on here.

_*Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

AF: The Anonymous Dude is actually... not really... _anonymous_ anymore.

AD: Quite true. I should email Maddie and tease her that _I'm_ in the story and the Main Character _ISN'T_!

NS: That isn't a bad accomplishment, considering Madeleine is truly jealous of her position at head-ladder.

AD: Eh. She's the author. You can't blame her.

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged on*_

MO: I missed a lot, didn't I.

AF: Yes, you did. We were talking about whining, and spanking, and the lack of the latter...

MO: Spanking? *cough, cough* I remember _that_...

NS: *snort* I believe we all do, Thomas.

B: Rather funny, I thought. It still got done though.

AF: I hate being second-youngest. What'd I miss in two years?

MO: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

NS: XD

AF: I _really _believe that. But let's write. I CALL FIRST SHOT!

* * *

**Chapter Forty-three;**

**Hardened Hearts**

Jane Cahill couldn't believe she was standing in front of the Hagia Sophia and she wasn't thinking about art. It was a crude form of irony, she figured, that over twenty generations later, her own decedent wouldn't believe that 'The Jane' was -quite literally- '_The Jane_'. It didn't make any sense. But then art was never simple, or the artist. That in itself was what made art, _art_.

Running her fingers over an intricately hand-painted tile, Jane longed for something- simple? _Nah, not simple._ But she could feel her brain screaming out for something that _didn't_ involve running slightly damp fingers over glass plates. That_ didn't_ involve stretched canvas and oil paints. That _didn't_ involve wood, plaster, and shingles. It was just too confusing.

Jane leaned up against the tiled wall for comfort. She could hear the bells beginning to chime, calling everyone to their evening prayers. In the sunlight -turned different colors because of the stained glass, Jane tried to sort through her feelings. _Something firm._ She finally figured. _Something or someone I can rely on who won't change._

Art was a kaleidoscope- constantly in motion. Playing with objects, light, sounds and colors. That was what made it beautiful- so unique. Stability was something Jane had never really thought about. She had never needed it. But now...

Reaching into her jeans pocket, Jane pulled out the cell phone Katherine had given her earlier that day. Flipping though it, she scanned through Contacts until she found Madeleine's name. Jane hesitated before she hit the call button though. Her sister truly wasn't much different than she herself was. In her mind's eye, Jane could see Madeleine's laughing eyes twinkling at her. Her sister was constantly moving; constantly finding new things to do and try. She was reliable, but not consistent.

Jane's finger lingered over the 'okay' and 'up' buttons a moment longer, then she scrolled two selections up and hit 'send'.

* * *

MO: Two selections up?

AF: Two selections up. Think about it. We only had our five names logged into our phones then. All our names (really weird) are in alphabetical order except for Tom's. Two letters up from 'M' would be:

B: 'K'... ME!

AF: Precisely. I am a genius...

AD: Ah... we all are, Jane. Credit goes to no one.

NS: We all wouldn't be here if it weren't for two people, so I wouldn't say that...

AD: True. But with limitations.

MO: I got it now. WRITE ON!

* * *

_5... carry the one... round the ten... divide the fifteen..._

_!_

Katherine Cahill was practically scared out of her wits when her cell phone started playing Poker Face while she was finding the square root of 1.358. Hastily reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and opened it without even seeing who was calling first. _Gotta turn that volume down later. _She made a mental note to herself.

When she answered the call, she half expected Madeleine on the other end. After all, it had been almost two hours since they had separated on Bunker Hill. "Hello. This is Katherine Cahill, who brilliancy is going to change the world. How may I help you?"

"Hey, Katie? That's you right? Dang, the phone makes your voice sound different. I mean, not different bad, just- different-weird. I mean- heck, you probably know."

"Oh! Geeze, Jane, it's you. You nearly gave me a heart attack back there. And yeah, I get it. Your voice sounds pretty different, too."

"Sorry," Katherine nearly felt guilty herself with hearing the authentic sorrow in Jane's voice. "I didn't mean to scare you, but where are you?"

"Middle of the marketplace, in Cairo." Katherine replied. She dodged a man wheeling a cart full of tomatoes at the same time. "Right by the 22nd bus stop. You can't miss it."

"Thanks, Kate." And the line went dead.

_Kate?_ Katherine closed her phone and gently stuck it in her pocket after turning the volume down. _What was up with that?_ Then she went into the nearest coffee shop and sat down to wait.

It didn't take long. Katherine would have been able to pick out the fiery red hair from a block away. She caught Jane's eye, and then was watching her sister be seated in the chair across from her seconds later.

"So how did your meeting go?"

Katherine barely heard the words. Her mind was whirling. Jane did look a little bit tired. Her cheeks slightly redder than they were suppose to be. _Are her eyelids drooping or is it just me?_ Katherine couldn't tell. "Do you feel sick?"

Katherine's sister looked at her in surprise. "Sick?"

"You look sick." _-Wait, what?_ Katherine tried to re-gain control of her mouth. "I mean," She added hastily. "You don't look exactly..."

"I look sick," Jane finished for her. Stating the sentence flatly.

"Well, you're usually bouncing off the walls." Katherine admitted. "I don't think I've ever seen you sitting down, _quietly_ before."

There was a soft smile from Jane. "That's kind of what I feel like. Slumped."

"I guess I feel that way, too." The older sister shrugged. "You should of seen what a fit that old prune Bae Oh threw when I told him how we were here. He claimed it was physically impossible and we would have then defied the laws of Newton and Einstein."

"What are those?"

"Oh," Katherine shrugged again. "Long complicated formulas. Don't bother learning them till you get into Physics classes past college."

* * *

AF: Please note here, Katherine, that I wouldn't even take Physics classes anyway if I _did_ go to college.

B: That is noted. I thought of that about five seconds after I said it.

* * *

Jane gave a little wry smile at her sister's explanation, then turned to look out the window. "Cora wouldn't believe it was me. She said that if I was _really_ Jane Cahill I wouldn't be wearing such ridiculous clothing as jeans. Do you think-"

For once, Katherine anticipated her sister's question. "No. Don't believe her. Saying someone doesn't look good in a pair of jeans is like saying a monkey can eat an elephant."

Katherine got a blank stare.

* * *

NS: *blank stare*

MO: *blank stare*

AF: *blank stare*

AD: *stares with utter inability to contain laughter*

AD: *rotlfs*

B: What's that suppose to mean? 'Rotlfs'?

AD: Rolling on the Floor Laughing.

NS: He's literally doing it, too. Keep writing, Kate.

* * *

"So it's physically impossible for a monkey to eat an elephant. In the other aspect, it's physically impossible for a person _not_ to look good in jeans. They may have to search for a while to find the right ones, but they'll find them eventually."

"Which means..."

Katherine got up to go buy an Egyptian scone-type desert. "You look perfectly fine in those jeans and nobody should ever tell you other."

When Katherine got back, Jane was scanning through her Contacts list, mumbling to herself. When she noticed Katherine had sat down, she looked up. "Has Maddie called you yet?"

A frown flickered across Katherine's face as she shook her head. "Not now, at least. Has she called you?"

Jane had worried eyes, and a worried face as she shook her head. "No."

Katherine made a wry face when she tasted the Egyptian desert. She pushed it away from her into the middle of the table. "Do you think she might have called Tom?"

Shrugging, Jane pulled out her phone, flipped it open, and called her brother.

* * *

At the moment of the call, Thomas Cahill happened to be skiing down a steep incline in the Alps with Ivan Kleister, where one wrong move could kill him. He didn't care. With surprising ease, he balanced one ski stick in the crack of his arm and flipped open the phone and held it to his ear. "Hey! I'm kind of busy right now!" He roared, not even giving the person the chance to say hello.

On the other end, he could hear a large clatter as if someone, or something was towing another someone or something out of a busy café. "Hey, Tom." It was Katherine on the other end. "We need you!"

"Oh, for the love of-" Thomas had to shut up as he flew through the air and landed back in the snow. "I'm skiing right now! I can't just-"

"Jane and I are in Paris by the Seine river! See you soon!"

Thomas' eyes left the slope he was skiing down to scowl ferociously at his phone. His left ski slammed into a rock, which sent him flying down the side of the mountain. He wondered why in the world brothers just 'happened' to hate their sisters so much.

* * *

B: Oh, _thank you_, Thomas.

MO: You're very welcome. I was nursing my head for days after that. Reminder: When I say I'm skiing, and I can't talk; DON'T TALK!

AF: Fine.

B: Fine.

AD: Okay... that's settled. Next person!

* * *

For some reason, Luke Cahill felt like he'd never been angry in... forever. He felt like nothing, in the entire world, had made him feel as angry as this. He was almost amazed at the rage that billowed inside him since it was so different from what Madeleine had showed him he could feel. But it bubbled up inside of him, flowing- gushing into a river of hate.

Luke counted twenty strides across Bunker Hill. Then he turned around and did another twenty strides back. Doing something helped cork the new flow of anger. He kept pacing. After doing ten rows, back and forth, Luke was calm enough to stand still. Gritting his teeth, and clenching and unclenching his fists stopped him from blowing up again, but the danger was still there.

"The_ idiot_," Luke breathed through his teeth. "The _idiotic_, low-down, yellow-bellied, son of a belligerent-" The words stuck in Luke's throat. He could still see Vikram's cold, unforgiving eyes that zeroed in on him. The scoff of annoyance at the words of peace. The proclaimed disdain in Vikram's voice as Luke had stated who he was. Luke could still see the careless wave of ordinate dismissal of a seventeen year old. The dismissal of _Luke Cahill._

The anger billowed up and Luke started pacing again. When he had done fifteen laps, the anger had died down enough to where he was a bit more relaxed. But in the wake of the anger, was pain.

For the first time, Luke felt a small fraction of the pain his sister had suffered. He could see what the years of greed and corruption had done to himself and how it had spread to Katherine, Thomas, and Jane. How their little sister had tried, and was unable to pull them back together. How children, and grandchildren had tried to copy their ancestors and had succeeded in coping them all too well.

Luke walked to the North edge of the hill and leaned up against a tree there. He closed his eyes for a few moments, gently suffocating the the last flame of anger. Then he opened them. Luke automatically knew the same thing must of happened to the other three. More than likely, only Madeleine had met with success. But she had started the Madrigal branch, and they worked for harmony anyway.

He remembered Madeleine's words before she'd parted. She had known it would be this difficult. That the four different branches would be so unwilling to sit down and talk peaceably with one another. Luke sighed softly and tried to clear everything from his mind. It was almost dark. He wouldn't have much more time to stay on the hill till the rangers found him and asked him to leave. _Where's Mads anyway?_ A slight frown covered his face. _She ought of been back a while ago. I told her not to do anything stupid..._ His mind whirled. _But since when does Madeleine listen to instructions?_ Luke groaned.

* * *

NS: Yeah. When _does_ Madeleine listen to instructions? She doesn't even follow cooking instructions!

AF: Well neither do I, and our stuff still turns out good, right?

NS: I have a good mind to spite you, and say 'no'.

AF: And then run and raid Madeleine's pantry to see if she baked any brownies while you've been gone? I don't think so, big brother. I might not be a smart as you, but I'm plenty smart to know about the oldest lie in the book.

NS: Whatever. - ~ - That's a sneer, if you didn't get it...

AD: That is a horrible sneer. # ~ # That is a better sneer.

AF: Yours is worse than Luke's.

AD: Thank you. I always strive to be better.

NS: *facepalm* That wasn't her point...

AD: I'm smart. I know. That's the fun of jokes. DUH.

* * *

Deciding to play the part of worried big brother, Luke took a few strides forward- towards the sea, and peered over the edge of the hill. There were only a few people milling about below. Luke could easily see none of them were Madeleine, and that all but one was a park ranger.

Luke frowned slightly. He saw the stranger look up towards the top of the hill, then start walking up the trail to the top of it. None of the rangers paid attention to him. Nervousness increasing, Luke began to wonder as the stranger reached half-way to the top. He could make out a young man. Perhaps in his late teens, or early twenties. He had raven black hair, dark as a chunk of coal, similar to a person he had known far back. But Luke couldn't see what the color of the stranger's eyes were. He was too far away.

By the time the stranger was fifty feet away from the top, Luke could clearly see who it was. He could see the peering green eyes looking up towards him, but thankfully not seeing him. _But it can't be him,_ Luke's breath came faster, his heart pounding. _He can't be here!_ But the stranger was already rounding the final curve. Luke waited for a few seconds, then the stranger started to reappear.

When he finally saw Luke, the stranger's green eyes lit up in recognition. They were twinkling with unknown laughter, and somehow managing to show amusement without the owner of the eyes having to smile. Luke frowned slightly, trying to discover the reason. The stranger's strides were rapid too, quickly covering the twenty paces between them. His hands were by his side, loosely curled, but everything about the stranger was tensed with purpose; ready to pounce or deflect at any given time;

Exactly like Madeleine.

* * *

AD: I DO NOT DO THAT!

NS: Do.

AD: NOT!

NS: Do.

AD: NOT!  
MO: Guys, chill.

NS: Do.

AD: NOT!

NS: Do.

AF: Luke, Lu, stop it. Seriously. Your part's going to get a bad name.

NS: I'm writing, so suck it up.

AD: I have an incredibly itchy itch that wants me to use _blackmail_...

B: Oh, great... /boys/...

NS: Like- what...?

AD: You are always classified as _'the oldest'_, are you not?

NS: Haha. You win. Shut up now and let me write.

* * *

The stranger stopped a few paces away from Luke. His eyes waited patiently, a small smile barely showing as the right corner of his mouth turned up. Luke took him in. The stranger was still slightly shorter than Luke; the top of his head coming half an inch below, and his skin was still a rather pale tint- matching with Madeleine's.

Luke said the first words that popped into his mind. "But _how_?"

A grin spread across the stranger's face. "That is a rather long story, better told late at night in a coffee shop."

Luke found his own mouth twitching up and his eyes laughing. "You're still the same, aren't you."

The stranger shrugged. "Now that-"

Luke's phone began vibrating in his pocket. He gave a groan of disgust. "Hang on," Flipping open the phone, he held it to his ear.

"Hey, Luke? Is Maddie with you? None of us have heard from her."

"No," A slight frown pulled Luke's eyebrows together.

"Well, can you help us look for her then? Where are you anyway?"

Luke's mouth began to twitch. "Something just came up. I'm busy right now." He heard Katherine's mouth opening to shoot something back at him. He beat her to it. "In other words- no. Maddie's fine, wherever she's at."

Katherine gave a disgusted scoff and hung up.

The stranger's eyes twinkled more merrily than before. "You're not going to help them?"

Letting a grin slid over his face, Luke turned toward the sea. "No. They have Tom. If they use their heads, they'll find her in no time. Now, if they had told me that a seventeen year old girl was spotted on the island of Krakatau* riding a rare, white elephant bareback. _Then_ I would have gone."

The stranger laughed. "You haven't changed at all, have you."

Luke opened his mouth to reply, then paused, watching the sea. "I have," He finally whispered. "A lot, but I'm glad."

The stranger shook his head laughingly. Then with an almost non-indicated gesture, both Luke and the stranger simultaneously disappeared.

* * *

AF: I like that sentence. 'If they had told me that a seventeen-year-old girl was spotted on the island of Krakatau riding a rare, white elephant bareback...' BRILIANCY!

B: That's MY username! You ought to say... FREAKISHY!

MO: Freakishy? Seriously? Dudes...

NS: Dude is Rude.

AD: I like it. It can be The New Exclaimation of the Year: FREAKISHY.

AF: Okay. So it's Brilliancy and Freakishy. What else?

AD: Hm... Janima! That sounds cool, actually! JANIMA!

NS: I official believe that my brothers and sisters are going insane... * ~ *

B: I'm sorry. JANIMA!

AD: I am SO not sorry. JANIMA!

AF: What are we sorry about? JANIMA!

MO: What is Janima?

NS: Brilliancy was bad, Freakishy is worse, but Janima takes the prize cake.

AD: I WIN! JANIMA!

NS: I have a notion to take your laptop away from you. STOP SAYING THAT!

AD: JANIMA! JANIMA! JANIMA! JANIMA!

NS: THAT'S IT!

_*CONNECTION WITH ANONYMOUS DUDE HAS BEEN BROKEN*_

_*CONNECTION WITH ANONYMOUS DUDE HAS BEEN BROKEN*_

NS: There. Suck it up. HEY! STOP-

_*CONNECTION WITH NOT LUKE SKYWALKER HAS BEEN BROKEN*_

_*CONNECTION WITH NOT LUKE SKYWALKER HAS BEEN BROKEN*_

B: Let's... um... not say 'Janima' anymore...

AF: I have to agree with you...

MO: See THIS is what we get when Maddie's not here.

B: Agreed.

AF: Should we sign off now? I think we're getting pretty close to our character limit anyway.

MO: Agreed.

B: Agreed.

AF: Okay, bye guys!  
MO: Bye!

_*Art Freak has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logged off* _

B: Madeleine, this is a note left to you when you're feeling better and you read this. We DID NOT say anything here on purpose. It was just- Eh... We talk too much- do we not? So... edit what you need to. I don't think you need to say much. But remember that one time when you were writing with Luke and you said the the italic parts were suppose to be summaries of the ending, not tacked on annoying conclusions? I kind of think it's reached that point... So- eh... Give me a call when you read this.

But complain to Luke and Lu! Because THEY'RE the source of the trouble NOT ME!

Eh, probably Lu, because he's just like you.

Bye...

_*Brilliancy has logged off*_

* * *

*** - Note; Krakatoa is the English spelling an pronunciation of Krakatau. Krakatau is the Polynesian version. In the seventh book, they said it as Krakatau. But I've read other books (21 Balloons!) that use Krakatoa. I prefer Krakatoa, but either way is correct. That's just a note. (Obviously...)**

**Question: Who likes the word Janima? Should I change my username to Janima? Because it honestly sounds just as cool as Lapulta. XD**


	48. Finis

**Be prepared for the end. It'll come up faster than you think. ;)**

**That's all I have to say.**

**Oh, and I named this chapter Finis FOR A REASON. I play piano! I have a right to like the word Finis!**

* * *

_*Wicked Harmony has logged on* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged on* *Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

WH: You *cough* flunked. Big time.

NS: ...

AD: I'm sorry we flunked. *cough, cough, cough* Not like it's a major deal or anything. We *cough* _tried_.

NS: 'Tried' is a major word in that sentence. And _you_ failed writing the previoius chapter. Not me.

AD: EX- *cough, cough, cough cough* -CUSE ME?

WH: I *cough* hate being sick. This sucks. It's so *coughs* annoying being miserable.

NS: You don't have to be miserable.

_*Brilliancy has logged on* *Art Freak has logged on*_

B: How are you feeling, Mads/Lu? Better?

WH: *cough, cough* Thanks, but... eh.

AD: Translation *HACK, cough* - no.

NS; Stop doing that.

AD: What?

NS: That. It's annoying. HACK, cough. What is that? You sound like you have a furball stuck in your throat.

AD: It *cough* feels like it.

WH: Feels like that for me too. *ah, ah, ah-cho* Every time I try and get the phlem out of *cough* my throat it just gets stuck farther in.

AF: Poor Edward, listening to that all day and night...

NS: * o * Poor me!

AD: POOR *HACK, cough* US!

WH: POOR *HACK, cough* US!

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged on*_

MO: I missed a lot, didn't I... I always miss stuff. It's not fair!

B: If you signed on at the time I tell you to sign on, you'd be on-time.

MO: Ha. It _is_ 4:30 right now on my clock!

WH: Your *HACK* clock must be fast.

NS: Stop that, Madeleine. It's annoying. And Lu, you stop it too.

AD: *cough, cough* Sure, _little_-

NS; OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! Stop it! We had a deal!

WH: I sense *cough* bribes and other things here...

AF: Me too. Okay. Start writing, Mads. You read the last chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Forty-four;**

**Finis**

Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill couldn't decide whether the view was better from Bunker Hill, or from the hill overlooking the Old Faithful Inn. It was a hard choice. After a long time, she finally decided on the Old Faithful Inn; almost strictly for the fact that she had never seen geysers before and they were an interesting, curious specimen.

Madeleine was twisted around on a bench that was halfway up the hill. She was technically suppose to be facing _away_ from the view, but that annoyed her. So she kicked up her legs and fixed that problem. Old Faithful erupted in the distance just as her phone began to ring. _Again_.

Picking it up, Madeleine glanced at the person who was calling. _Katherine. Won't she ever realize I can take care of myself now?_ With a quick pull-back, the seventeen year old flung the phone into the nearby forest. She could hear it clattering against rocks and shrubs as it tumbled on it's way down. The song We Are the Champions faded off into the distance. That done, the view once again could be her main priority. Madeleine leaned her chin up against the back of the bench, thinking.

* * *

B: I _STILL_ cannot believe you did that, Madeleine. It was vulgar, and rude, and disrespectful-

WH: *cough* I wanted to. And that phone was annoying. Verizon is NOT *HACK, cough* getting my patronism anymore.

AF: That really is getting annoying, Mads. And I'm a realist that loves writing. Stop it, please.

WH: Then it'll be even _more_ *cough, cough, cough, cough* annoying when you talk to me in person. Get use to it.

* * *

She already knew her siblings had been rejected from their branches. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure that out. They were different people from what they had been. That was clear. They were different from how they had started their branches, and they had different goals now that they had changed. Madeleine swallowed hard as she watched the sun beginning to set over the Rocky Mountains. The chains choking the different branches were too tight now to begin to loosen them from the flesh they had dug into. It had to take time, along with certain strategic tools, to fix.

A dull ache started in Madeleine's heart. She had the tools, and she knew that together- she and her siblings could do anything. No matter what the goal. But that wasn't it. The other half of her heart that had been cut away long ago, was still missing. And it was still gone.

There was a quivering sigh while Madeleine tried to retain her emotions.

_He's gone Mads. Don't mope._ She looked up at the stars, wanting the comfort they usually offered her. They didn't help much. _What's the date?_ The girl watched little people-ants beginning to go inside the Inn. Bison-beetles grazed next to the river wrapping around the hill below her. Everything was calm and peaceful.

_November... November... November 17. Just at evening._ A horde of stored memories flooded back to her. Madeleine scrambled up from her bench, and disappeared.

* * *

_Lost_.

Madeleine gave a furious groan as she looked at the map of Gibraltar. It was completely stupid. All she needed to know, was what stupid street to take to find the stupid coast. _I'm pretty sure it still does border on the sea. Right?_ There was a disgusted scoff. Fed up to the neck with stupid street names that changed every dumb street, Madeleine just started walking South. She figured she'd hit the coast sometime, and she did.

It was covered. That was the next thing. If Madeleine would have had a mood ring on, it would have been the blackest black that was possible to be called black. Clearly stated- she was mad, and frustrated, and a little bit of stumped thrown in too.

When she had finally reached the coast, she counted fifty paces away, cutting two off since there had been five hundred years of erosion since she had last been there. The place was covered with a boardwalk.

The seventeen year old stared down and wished she were Thomas instead of just _part-_ Thomas. Maybe then she wouldn't have to actually sneak around in the dark while digging up a boardwalk. _How many people in the world have actually done that?_ Madeleine didn't answer the question she had asked, for the main reason that she was far too disgusted to.

_Oh well. Here goes._ She looked around to see if anyone was there, then going onto her knees, Madeleine reached under the boardwalk and began unscrewing the bolts. It was quite easy. The boardwalk was probably from the nineteen fifties, so the bolts were old and rusted. She managed to pull up three crossties, then a shovel appeared in her hand and she started digging.

* * *

NS: Thank you, thank you, thank you- STOP IT! Stop- like- _coughing on me_! That's _disgusting_!

AD: Not as *HACK, COUGH, COUGH, HACK* disgusting as your self-importance.

NS: I am covered with- _dare I say it_: **_flem_**. Ew. *goes to wash hands, hair, and anything else that was touched by germs*

WH: XD *cough*

B: Luke, get back here. You'd be in the shower for years if you wanted that accomplished. Seriously. Get back. Now.

AD: I'll get him back. Don't worry.

AF: Eh. Like that will happen anytime soon. *insert line break of awesomeness here*

B: A line break of what?

AF: Of awesomeness. Line breaks are awesome. You didn't know that?

WH: *GASP!* *hacks, coughs, and sneezes because she gasped*

B: Mads, stop it.

AD: WE'RE BACK! *HACK*

B: You know, 'hack' sounds like you're 'hacking' your computer to bits. O.o

NS: Tkos os ammpuomg.

WH: What?  
AF: Something's up with Luke now... Hurry up! I have stories to write! Poems to compose! Songs to publish!

AD: Eh, I taped his hands to the laptop so he either has to ruin his laptop, or type with us. I just think I taped his hands in the wrong place... O.o

B: Lu, let him loose. Seriously. We need him.

WH: He's got the *cough* main part in this chapter.

AD: _Really_? Aw, hear that, Lukie? They want *cough* me to let you go... How sweet...

NS: SKIT I[! MPT NE FRP O ,IRDER YOU OM UR SLEEP!

AD: Oh, shoot *cough* the tape's coming loose...

AF: LET HIM GO!

WH: Lu, *cough* seriously...

AD: OW! hry QUIT IT! *ha-* STOP NOW!

B: Great, now what? Luke's killing him? I don't need this trouble. Should we come back tomorrow and write it, Mads?

WH: Not a *cough* bad idea... O.o

AD: Okay. I _think_ *HACK, cough* we're back. Think.

AF: Seriously, write now. Both of you.

* * *

_Menlo Park, 7:00 PM;_

"_No!_" Katherine screamed. "You do _not_ stand up for her! She needs to start taking responsibility for _her own_ actions!"

Luke's worried face turned disgusted. "And you're saying that for a phone- although it might have cost 150 dollars- that you can make appear in your hand just as easy as if you were breathing. You're screaming at her for that?"

"YES!" Katherine turned to Madeleine, who was suppose to be sitting on the park bench with Jane, but very mysteriously, disappeared. "Great," Katherine snapped. "Now what? You try to tell her something. She doesn't listen. You try to help her. She ignores you. You try to discipline her for doing something she shouldn't do. She doesn't care. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO TAKE CARE OF SOMEONE LIKE THAT?"

"You don't have to take care of her," Jane pointed out. She was sitting cross-legged on the park bench about two strides to the right of Katherine, eating teriyaki chicken Thomas had decided to buy, then didn't like. "She's your sister. Just be glad she's not your daughter."

Katherine blew up at that. "THAT'S NOT FAIR!" People's heads turned while they were walking fifteen yards away on an entirely different path. "You three are SUPPORTING HER! I am trying to CONDUCT DISCIPLINE right now, and I CAN'T!"

Luke crossed his arms and leaned on one foot. The one that didn't have weight on it began tapping. He wasn't looking at Katherine, but over in the distance where a pine tree's branches had begun moving for 'some reason'. "One..." Pause. "Two..." Pause. Luke thought for a minute. "I'm _counting_, Madeleine... Two and a half..."

"Fine," Madeleine suddenly appeared in front of him. "But I'm not going to get yelled at for throwing away that stupid phone. If I'm going to have it back, the ringtone needs to be changed."

Katherine stared at her. "You- you threw away your phone- because you didn't like the _ringtone?_"

"Well, sort of," Madeleine thought for a minute. "That and the combination of the fact that it was annoying me because you guys were calling so many times."

Jane covered her mouth with her hand since she had accidentally swallowed a piece of meat wrong and was 'coughing'. Luke shot her a warning glance. Katherine looked as pained as possible. "I can not _believe_ you. Why didn't you just change the ringtone? Or answer the stupid thing?"

Madeleine blinked. "You can actually do that? And why would I have answered the phone? You just would have driven me crazy anyway."

Katherine gave her a 'seriously' look. "Why in-"

"Alright," Luke stepped in between the two sisters. "Break it up. Katie, take Tom and Jane to the hotel. I'll talk to Madeleine," Madeleine shot Luke a grateful glance, but Luke pretended not to see it. He figured he probably shouldn't be the extra-nice-dude, but it was a good thing to be the nicer-than-Katherine-dude.

Once the other three were gone, Madeleine turned in relief to her brother. "Thanks so much for doing that! I mean- honestly," Luke gave no recognition at her words. He gave Madeleine a dull stare. Her voice grew softer. "Katie, just kept going on... and on... And..." Her voice trailed off.

"So," A slight smile showed on Luke's face. "Why _did_ you throw your phone into a forest in Yellowstone?"

Madeleine glared at him, feeling like she had just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. "Why should I tell _you_?"

"Why did you throw your phone into a forest in Yellowstone?"

Madeleine crossed her arms and wondered if she could move fast enough to kick Luke in the shins and then run away. She didn't like her chances. "I was bored with it. And I didn't want them to find me."

"Why not?"

"I was doing something."

"What?"

Madeleine put a devilishly angelic expression on. "None of your _beeswax_."

* * *

AD: O.o Now if _I_ did *cough* that-

NS: You'd be dead in five seconds. WRITE.

* * *

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

Luke's face formed a frown. "_Start talking._"

"Mannheim Steamroller is doing a totally rad new Christmas album. Like- super cool. Jane's freaking out over it. And-" She stopped short. "Well you said you wanted me to _talk_!"

* * *

AF: I was NOT! I was _excited_! There is a difference, Madeleine!

WH: *cough* Not really...

NS: Knowing you, Jane, I'll bet it's what Maddie said... O.o

* * *

"Why didn't you want them to find you," Luke said everything slowly, as if he was repeating the words to a five-year-old. His eyes were serious, saying he meant business. "We were worried sick for _three hours_. You need to tell us where you're at."

"There is... a reason," Madeleine looked, and kicked at the dirt.

Luke cleared his throat. Waiting.

"It's private."

There was a soft groan and a roll of the eyes. Then he looked back at Madeleine. His interrogating expression was gone, but he was still serious. "If I was Katherine," He murmured. "I would still be sitting here screaming at you and waving a phone in front of your face. I honestly don't blame you that much for leaving us. But you need to tell us where you're at." He paused for a minute. "I don't need to lose you like I lost Lucas."

Luke silently opened his arms and Madeleine ran into them. "I'm sorry," She muttered, voice muffled. "But it's more fun being out of touch with the world sometimes."

Her brother didn't respond, but he rested his chin gently on her hair, a slight smile twitching on his lips. Suddenly Madeleine began struggling in his arms. Letting her go, Luke watched her twinkling eyes as she ran over to a pine tree and dropped to her knees. He followed her, and knelt down close to where she was.

"I have something for you," Madeleine's voice was still slightly muffled as she had her head almost immersed in a one and a half foot deep hole. "I put it here so nobody would find it, but I thought it would take longer till we were alone. And so I buried it really deep."

_Buried treasure._ Luke nearly grinned. _Makes great gifts!_

"Here!" And then Madeleine was pulling something out of the ground.

Luke didn't want to guess, but he couldn't help it as the object was being removed out of the ground. _Checks? Bonds? A lifetime award of Hershey Candy bars?_ And the gift was... A box.

Luke stared at the moldy, worm-eaten, dirt-infested wooden box Madeleine was holding in her hands. "That's _it_?"

Madeleine plopped it down on the ground in front of him and gave him a look that clearly read- 'just open it dummy'.

He reached out a single index finger and tried to prop it up. It didn't open. Madeleine snatched it from him. "If you remember correctly," She shot him a disgusted look. "I've never heard of mold killing somebody. And did you actually think the box would have hinges?"

"Yeah," Luke shot back. "I did. You have a problem with that?"

They glared at each other until Madeleine finally slapped the box down in front of him again. "Now, open it _correctly_ and see what's inside."

"Better be the winning lottery ticket," Luke muttered under his breath, then reached out, firmly grasped the box lid and lifted the top off. There was nothing there.

Luke looked up at Madeleine for his better-be-well-balanced explanation.

She stared at him as if something had happened to his brains. "It's extra security. Take out the fake bottom."

Luke stopped himself from throwing the box back into the hole. _Who takes a box, buries it underground for who-knows-how-many-years and gives it to someone with a fake bottom for extra security?_ He quickly dug around the box's fake bottom, pried it out, and lifted it.

Luke stared.

The actual box had been lined with glass to stop the mold, and sheep's wool to protect what was inside. He took out the one wrapping of fleece and felt the slight heaviness of the package. Laying the small parcel on the grass, Luke opened it. He swallowed hard when he saw what was inside. "Is- is it really the same one?"

Madeleine nodded solemnly. "I couldn't bear to leave it. So I buried it in Gibraltar by the coast. It was wet. So that's why I lined the box with everything."

Luke gently picked up the dagger. It fit his hand comfortably, but he knew now that he shouldn't use it, and didn't have to. He was grateful for that. "Thank you, Madeleine," He finally breathed. "I- I guess I never really thought of it after everything. But I never... expected-"

Madeleine rested her right hand lightly on the dagger hilt Luke was holding. "I only wanted it to see the good times. I kinda figured you'd want it back."

Luke set the dagger back in the fleece, then opened his arms to Madeleine again. She cuddled up next to him and rested her head against his shoulder. After a while, she looked up at the stars twinkling above them and the entire reason for why she had pulled out the dagger in the first place flooded back to her. She looked at Ursa Minor. "Luke?"

"Hm?"

"Why was I named Madeleine?" The girl closed her eyes, letting her brother's arm wrap tightly around her and hold her close.

"Why do you ask?" Luke whispered back.

Madeleine paused, looking up at the sky before she answered. "Mother use to take me out. And she'd point out all the constellations. When she got to Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, she'd tell me that was my name. That that was who I was. I never understood it."

A soft smile twitched over Luke's mouth. "It is who you are," He breathed. "You may be little, but- but you have enough heart, and twice the courage to battle five grown men. You _are_ a little bear Maddie; and Mother always knew it."

Madeleine let the explanation sink in. "I miss her so much," She whispered at last. "But- I always know she's there. And Father, too," She swallowed hard. "But I have you, and Katie, and Tom, and Jane. All of you make up for it."

Luke softly slipped his index finger under Madeleine's chin, bringing her head up. He gently kissed her forehead just as he had so many years ago. "I love you, Maddie."

Madeleine didn't have to reply. She knew that Luke knew clearly what her answer would be. Nothing else mattered at that instant. Forget the past. Forget all the decedents who didn't believe their elders. Forget the pain that had been suffered for centuries. This was now, and Madeleine couldn't think of any other place she'd rather be. She had her family back.

And for Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill - that was enough.

* * *

AD: And a *cough* nice sweet ending to top it off... How sweet...

WH: If you so *HACK, cough* DARE get any ideas, buster. You are _**MINCEMEAT**_!

AF: Mincemeat! INGENIUS, Madeleine!

B: Tom? Yeah, I know there wasn't a 'logging off' sign, so you're still on here. You win.

MO: BOOYAH! See? I KNEW it! Okay. So long shirts are best. If you don't like long shirts, a moose hide jacket is better. Make sure it's lined with wolverine fur around the hood. The wolverine fur doesn't freeze. Long underwear. NO JEANS. Thermal sweatpants. You'd break your frozen butt if you tried to pull off jeans up there. Bare necessities. As much weight as the-

B: THOMAS, I GET IT! MINUS DEGREES! Gee! Get out of here and log the plane tickets! God!

MO: *IS GONE*

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged off* *Brilliancy has logged off*_

AD: *cough* What was that all about?

AF: I have... _no clue_. Go figure.

WH: I'm *cough* figuring. What are you picking up, Luke?

NS: Cold weather?

AD: Hm... I'll bet they CHATTED ABOUT IT! *desperately HACKS and presses the 'up' key*

WH: *coughs and waits anxiously*

NS: *waits*

AF: *waits*

AD: Okay, so Kate apparently made this deal with Tom that if somebody called somebody a name for the time that we were on here, she would go dogsledding with him in Alaska for two weeks. Since Maddie called me Mincemeat, Tom won the bet, and they're going. Apparently Tom's excited about it. O.o

NS: Whoa.

AF: I WANT TO GO! THE NORTHERN LIGHT ARE IN ALASKA! I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GO! *pouts*

WH: Gee, Jane. Chill. It's not like Alaska's _that_ glamous or anything.

AF: YES IT IS! AND I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GO-

AD: STOP! We *HACK, cough* get it! Chill out!

NS: Actually, dogsledding sounds kind of fun.

AD: *stares*

WH: *stares*

AF: *stares*

NS: What? I mean, if you _really_ want to go, I eh... _might?_ take you? O.o

AD: *stares, coughs*

WH: *stares, HACKS* Have Tom plan your trip then, because... *cough* I'm pretty sure you guys aren't Tomases... O.o

AF: I'M GOING! I'M GOING! I'M GOING! I'M GOING! I'ASDHGakdfj-

NS: Jane?

AF: I'M HERE! LET'S SEE, WARMEST THINGS... i CAN DO OTHERS WHEN I GET THER... UH...

AD: You're typing while you're packing. Gosh... Okay, *cough* Mads. What are we doing?

WH: No *cough* clue. Let's... get out of here though, Lu... O.o

_*Art Freak has logged off* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged off* *Wicked Harmony has logged off*_

AD: Ah... Alaska. The land of glaciers and grizzly bears. Great. Now I have to touch him up on _that_... O.o

_*Anonymous Dude has logged off*_

* * *

**Dogsledding. What next? =P**

**Question; Should Jane get frightened by wolves, grizzlies, or moose? I personally hate moose, (meese) but might as well put it in a poll... O.o**

**EDIT: I aplogize for posting this without line breaks. It was my own fault, and I forgot. It's all my stupid computers fault for crashing anyway... Never fear! It ought to be up sooner or later!**


	49. Epilogue

**Best and last chapter, people, but watch out. These are LONG ITALICS again!**

**And I want exactly TWENTY-FIVE REVIEWS before I publish Termination. I've already got the first-twelveth chapter written up - including italics, but it is **_**your**_** job to see that other people will be able to enjoy the Sequel to Forgiveness. Anonymous reviews are counted as well. So everybody - start reviewing, or Termination will never see the light of Fanfiction.**

**TERMINATION IS COUNTING ON **_**YOU**_**!**

* * *

_*Wicked Harmony has logged on* *Anonymous Dude has logged on*_

AD: Ed isn't coming? YAY! *cough*

WH: I know, I'm still coughing too. Mildly now, but still coughing. *cough* See? Example. Anyway, yes, Ed is coming. He's late. And he's complaining that he missed about twenty chapters and he doesn't even know what's going on. Don't fill him in, whatever you do.

AD: Why not?

_*Darth Cahill has logged on*_

DC: Because she likes annoying me, and likes other people to annoy me, too.

WH: That's not true! *cough*

AD: Hey Ed, I actually hid a twenty dollar bill under your seat. You know, your swivel chair. Luke was trying to take it off me. So... eh. Hope you don't mind. It's in the lining.

WH: BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! HE FELL FOR IT! *cough, cough*

DC: What? Hey, that's not cool!

AD: I'm just... nonchalantly following Madeleine's instructions and annoying you...

DC: Now LISTEN UP, YOU _NINCOMPOOP_-

_*Not Luke Skywalker has logged on* *Art Freak has logged on*_

NS: I. Am. Cold.

WH: BWHAHAHA!

AF: I imagine you sounding like Sponge Bob. Shut up. *shivers*

AD: See? I told you I'm not going to Alaska. How are the dogs anyway?

NS: They're LUCKY. They get fur coats and burrow into that snow to keep warm. It ISN'T FAIR!

AD: Ha. Ha. *note sarcasm* And think of the irony. I'm sitting here, in our nice, cozy, warm apartment, snacking on-

NS: SHUT UP!

DC: How are you, Jane? Surviving the minus degrees?

AF: I'm doing okay. The scenery is BEAUTIFUL. So I can survive.

NS: We're going to Yellowstone next time. NOT THIS COLD!

DC: *snorts* Like that's going to happen anytime soon.

WH: *rolls eyes, coughs, and agrees with Darth*

AD: *laughs*

_*Mountain Obsessed has logged on* *Brilliancy has logged on*_

MO: ALASKA ROCKS!

B: I have to admit that is so. Snowflake, stop it.

WH: Snowflake? Who's Snowflake?

MO: Our dog. Well, Katie's dog, actually. She decided-

B: DID NOT!

MO: DID!

DC: Guys. Seriously. So what's going on?

MO: Katie likes Snow so much she decided that she's going to take her home. Yup. An Alaskan Malemute in Virginia.

WH: Lucky...

DC: _No,_ Madeleine.

WH: Fine... fine... Let's write, since we're all here, and don't have frostbite.

* * *

_Two Years Later;_

**Epilogue**

"Grace," Madeleine Cahill held the phone to her ear. She was sitting at her kitchen table folding fifty little invitation cards. "I know this is sort of late notice, but I wanted to do a party next week in the old warehouse next to my house. You know, the one they were working on, trying to remodify it, and then they stopped?"

On the other end of the line, Grace frowned. For the two years she had known Madeleine Cahill, she wasn't that pleased with the way her 'late notice' ideas had turned out. The one idea about the parties at Grace's mansion had been another thing. But Grace had also wisely learned that when Madeleine couldn't answer a 'when, why, where, how' trivia, the idea was nearly _bound_ to be worthless. "Why?"

"I thought we could invite Isabel, Vikram, Bae, maybe Eisenhower, Ivan, and Cora. Broderick too, maybe. And then-"

"No," Grace stated flatly, turning back to her computer. "No. Be satisfied with _my_ party that _I'm_ hosting. And the way the first one turned out, be happy you got that." Before the majority of the words were out of her mouth, Grace had her regrets. Madeleine never, ever, took 'no' for an answer. It would be better if Grace had just scheduled an earlier party at the mansion and said it was 'Madeleine's party'.

"Okay then. How about just us? I mean- Madrigal wise."

Grace didn't want to say 'no' again, but saying 'yes' was almost like agreeing the Statue of Liberty was to be cut down and used for soup. "How about..." She murmured slowly, thinking.

Madeleine didn't even give her a chance to finish her sentence. "Okay! Thanks! I'll see you there!"

"_Madeleine Elizabeth_-" Grace didn't get the '_Cahill_' out before a click on the other line signaled a dead end. She sighed and looked back at her computer. So much for discipline. Apparently for being alive five hundred years, Madeleine Cahill hadn't gathered much in the way of maturity.

Grace swirled around in her swivel chair again to grab her glass of water, and accidentally knocked something to the floor in the process. She looked down in horror. It was the other vial; the one Fiske had given her once he'd admitted to breaking the first one. Before her very eyes, Grace watched as the splattered, glowing blue liquid disappeared.

NS: The Statue of Liberty WOULD be cut down and used for soup if Madeleine had her way...

* * *

AF: *GASPS*

WH: That's NOT TRUE!

NS: You would. What if... There was a large amount of cookies under the base of the statue? And remember, the public would KILL you if you did anything. XD

MO: Haha.

WH: _I would..._ design a giant submarine with huge CAT claws on the end of it-

AD: -it would be a simple matter to drill into the island since it's rock-

WH: -and then get out of the submarie with a scuba diving suit and a supply of air, and swim into the hole made by the claws.

AD: If the 'large amount of cookies' are under the base of the statue, there has to be a secure _dry_ place to store them.

WH: A cavern would be perfect. And also, if the cookies are 'under' the base of the statue, you would be swimming up. Eventually you would penatrate the 'dry caven/place' and-

AD: Live happily ever-after with a lifetime supply of cookies without anyone ever knowing you're there.

NS: I hate your theories. _Hate them._

DC: Continue. And Madeleine - don't you _dare_ get any ideas.

* * *

_One Week Later;_

She had jeans under her skirt.

Madeleine had to admit, it _was_ cheating. But if she was going to sneak into Boston's Harkins Theater after the party, she needed a fast change of clothes. _It's time to chill._ She reminded herself. _You have the canapes, the ink, your pen. You might as well start writing now. Well- wait._ Suspicious, Madeleine pressed her head to the floor, making sure her hair didn't get dipped in ink. She peered out from under the tablecloth she was hiding beneath.

She could see a bunch of 1700's style shoes. Although it was a 1500's party, people just automatically thought that clothes from the 17 hundreds equaled clothes from the 15 hundreds. _What a pity._ Madeleine rolled her eyes and got back into her position, leaning on her elbows, below the table. _No sign of the others. Jane's probably looking in the kitchen and protecting her other trays..._

Well, that just made it easy for the little mastermind to sneak away. _It's all the other people's fault that I'm gone anyway!_ She thought disgustedly. _If they stopped asking questions, I wouldn't mind. But- geeze! Talk about talkative!_

Madeleine laid a small, leather-bound book in front of her, dipped her quill pen in ink, and started to write.

_December 13, 1998_

_Well, tonight is the night of the party. It's a shame that I'm the only one who has to crawl under the food and drink tables to get some peace from those annoying people! Honestly! I mean- they'll just go on, and on, and on. Who cares what it was like in the 1500's? It's the past. Put your past, behind you. As Timon would say._

_Otherwise than that, it's going good. I slipped under the tables with my stuff just as the band arrived. Maybe I should tell things as they happened, one after the other._

_Jane got here first. She truly came a day before. She claimed that every good party needed good party trays, and started cutting carrots, and making all this artichoke dip that I'm certain no sane person is ever going to eat. I think there's platters of cheese and crackers above my head, and drinks farther down, a bit past my feet. When you get to the wall and the tables turn the corner, Jane put together an enormous pot of chilli, soup, sandwiches, more soup, and five different kinds of bread. After that are the desserts. I honestly should of snitched those trays instead of the canapes. Those brownies are to die for!_

_I was here second. I put up all the stuff and was helping Jane cook until the cooking ideas got a little extreme. That was when she was making the dip. So I'm pretty sure you get a feeling of how much food I wanted at this party. I also wanted to explore down this super dark hallway. The first door on the left is the kitchen. But Jane dragged me away and I didn't get to see what's on the right side, or what's on farther down the left side. Maybe there's a thief's quarters there and I'll get half a million dollars for turning him in. Maybe that's the reason they quit construction on this place! Hm..._

_Luke was the third one to arrive. He was dressed in a red tunic and tan breeches. I teased him since his boots weren't actually authentic 1500's made. He got rather mad and tried to throw a bowl of dip at me. I splattered him with a bowl of gravy. So he had to go back and change. Poor guy..._

_Katie was fourth. She was wearing her usual yellow dress with cream lace cuffs. It was actually really pretty. Her hair had about three pencils she had stuck in it though. I told her to take them out, and she told me; I was crazy- and what if she had an 'inspiration'? Oh, Please. She's not going to have one at my party. Not now anyway. At least- I hope not._

_Thomas was next. He walked in wearing a giant chicken suit. Luke was back by that time, and he told Tom he looked like an idiot. He actually did. Well, not that bad. The chicken suit looked itchy, and it needed more air holes. Tom would of sent Luke flying into the middle of next week if I hadn't stopped him. I had Tom go change out of the chicken suit and put on something actually referring to the1500's. He claimed he was a 'chicken' from the 1500's. I told him he would have died at two years old in a stew-pot if that was true. Poor guy. I think he just got back about now._

_Everybody else started arriving after. Grace came first. She was wearing some randomly selected tunic with breeches pulled over a pair of jeans. I told her I got grounded from going outside when Gideon found out I had been working in the fields and that she should be wearing a dress suitable to a party. She told me it was too hard to find a dress. Pu-lease._

_Vikram came, not Isabel, thank goodness. I was rather surprised anybody from the Lucian branch came beside Luke._

_Nobody from the Tomas branch came except Tom himself._

_Alistair came, but I think he's just here for the food. Definitely not for the dancing. God..._

_Cora decided not to come. Which was rather a pity, because I had... I think, five small spray cans of pink paint. I was hoping we could both ambush Luke after the party. Some wonderful things don't happen. Oh well..._

_Hope came, although not Arthur. She said he was busy, and little Amy needed a babysitter anyway. Coming from someone who's three months pregnant- I thought that was pretty good. I know I would have stayed home._

_Wait a second... Someone's coming..._

_Okay. False alarm. I just went and crawled down the tables in case it was Luke. That dude would kill me for hiding under here. Actually, he's probably looking for me by now. Ekk!_

_It's funny. Katie tries to take care of me so hard. And so does Tom and Jane. But Luke- Luke's really the only one who succeeds. But even then. With all them 'trying' to take care of me. Nobody really does it. I'm still alone. I know if Edward were here, he'd be laying on the floor opposite of me. I can picture him there. Elbows propping him up, blue eyes sparkling in laughter. He'd be shaking his head right now. Half scornful of me hiding from everybody. But no matter how much I see him, he's still not there. Everytime I open my eyes, he disappears._

_I miss him._

_-MC_

* * *

DC: Thank you. I feel appreciated - finally.

WH: *cough* Your self-appreciation ought to be enough.

B: Snowflake, stop!

MO: Tell her to sit. She can't read the computer screen. O.o

B: Sit!

AD: What's she doing?

B: Trying to crawl onto my lap. She has this idea that: one - it's going to be warmer there, and two - she's a lapdog.

AF: Awww... SWEET!

NS: I will not say anything... I will not comment... I will not say a word...

AD: A nice combination of a dog. Alaskan Malemute, right? *cough*

B: Yup. Okay, write Madeleine.

* * *

Madeleine stared down at her book and swallowed hard, choking the sobs back. She knew quite well that her last entry had ended with something said about Edward, and her last entry after that. All her entries always said something about him. But Edward wouldn't want her to be crying. _Except he's gone._ Madeleine took a few deep breaths. _And- and I'm so alone._

There was the house she'd built underground at the base of the North Virginia Appalachian Mountains. It was a nice home, all dug out from underground. The entrance had concrete steps leading down from the middle of a tree trunk. She had designed it all herself, lining the entire house with an oak roof and walls. But- only Madeleine lived in it.

There was her two year old, painted mustang mare; dubbed Carrie. But there was no Edward to toss hay into the rack with one throw. No one to sit beside Madeleine as she ate her ham and cheese sandwich with pudding on the side. Nothing in all the world could make up for Edward.

"_Madeleine Elizabeth! _When I find you..."

Madeleine's eyes widened at the unfinished threat. Working fast, she snapped her diary shut, closed up the pen and inkwell, and stuck the three of them into her pockets. She unwillingly left the canapes. Clumsily managing to crawl, Madeleine made it all the way down the row of tables to where they met at the wall's corner. She could hear footsteps and voices, although she couldn't distinguish who's were who's.

_I'm so dead._ She thought. Then realized that thought was actually true. She nearly laughed, but managed to stay quiet.

The footsteps came closer, and closer, stopping right in front of where she was hiding. Madeleine didn't dare breath.

Suddenly two arms shot out under the tablecloth and grabbed Madeleine's ankles. She gave a little yelp and desperately thrashed, trying to free herself. Not being able to, she was forced to lie still as the arms pulled her out from under the tables. Madeleine looked disgustedly into Luke's laughing eyes. "I'm busy," Was the first excuse she could think of.

"You're going to be busier in a minute," Luke reached down and helped his sister up, then handed her a piece of paper. "Someone over there wants an autograph."

"I'm THROUGH!" Madeleine howled. She snatched the piece of paper away from Luke, scribbled her name on it, and thrust it back into his hand. "I'm leaving! I'm going to Antarctica, where no one knows me, and not a soul there knows my name! I'm going to dig a snow-house out of snow and live on penguins! I'm going to-" She angrily pushed past Luke and stalked away from him, flopping right into Thomas. She side-stepped him, and tried to keep walking.

Thomas raised an eyebrow and caught her arm. Barely noticing, Madeleine continued trying to walk, pulling against Thomas' arm, but not going anywhere. "I'm going to disappear off the face of the earth! No person is ever going to hear from me again! Nobody is going to remember the name of-"

Madeleine stopped raving suddenly as a yellow dress appeared below her. "What are you talking about?"

The seventeen year old in the red dress with white lace straightened up. "Ah... nothing. Absolutely nothing, Katherine."

Luke and Thomas exchanged meaningful glances.

"Good," Katherine rolled her eyes. There was still one pencil tucked behind her ear, making her look like a 1500's secretary. "Anyway, someone wants to talk to you. And honestly, popularity is no reason to be hiding out under the tables. What do the poor celebrities do when they're surrounded by screaming fans?"

"Fans don't scream," Madeleine stated flatly.*

"What are you talking about?" Jane snapped, suddenly appearing behind Katherine. The girl in her green dress was holding a large, silver platter with fudge heaped on one half, and brownies on the other. She was indignant. "Fans always-" Then she got the joke. Indignance turned to disgust. "Ha, ha. Very funny, Madeleine. Now stop pretending you don't like the attention."

"I hate it," Madeleine crossed her arms and glared at her two sisters. "I hate all of it. I want to be left in relative form of peace."

"Maddie, just go out and talk to the darn people will you?"

"Hm..." Madeleine sarcastically put her index finger to her chin and 'thought'. "Let me think. This person who wants to talk to me, is a good looking idiot of a boy who want to see what a stupid girl from the 1500's looks like. Then to top it off, he wants a dumb autograph just to make it look like he's not trying to flirt. They think that I can't see thought all their ruses. WRONG! Why don't they talk to your four? If-"

"Madeleine," Luke turned Madeleine back towards him, resting his hands gently on her shoulders. "If you're going to complain, why did you do this party in the first place?"

Madeleine's mouth opened and shut twice. Then she firmly set her lips in a thin line. "Fine. I'll talk to your idiot boy. Where is he?"

"Oh," Katherine relaxed visibly. "Over there. By the door. He's the one with blond hair and blue eyes. See him?"

Madeleine exaggeratedly squinted. "No, I don't."

"Oh, be nice will you?" Katherine snapped. "He's in a sort of like- a tan tunic with gray breeches. You can't miss him."

_Sure._ Madeleine practically snorted, but she looked out over the crowd, hoping to escape her siblings' watchful eyes.

She could see Grace in the middle of all the people, laughing and talking like she always did. There was Hope, surrounded by Alistair, and a few other people, her hands sliding up to lightly rest on her stomach every so often. Madeleine could see the difference between all her decedents. The ones from Lillia, all the way down to Hope. She could see the ones who lit up at everything they saw. Who were all action. She could see the ones who just sat there and thought things over till they got a brilliant idea. Then there were the ones- so much like Edward. Who knew, but played along, loved, and were unmistakable. Madeleine's heart began to ache again, so she turned away and scanned the crowd near the door for the boy.

It took her awhile. The door was partially blocked by all the people, making it hard to see the other people standing by the door. Frowning slightly, Madeleine decided to scan the wall by the door from left to right. There was a fat man first. He was frowning, and attempting to look happy and jolly. There was a young man next, but he had brown hair, and an almost orange-red tunic. It couldn't be the one Katherine was talking about.

Madeleine scanned the wall over again, finally seeing the boy- and her heart stopped dead. She couldn't move. Nothing Madeleine had ever done, had ever felt like this; like the entire world wasn't moving. Slowly, Madeleine began to wake up. She could hear Katherine shaking her, asking what was wrong.

Madeleine quickly pushed her away.

* * *

B: THANKS!

WH: Ed, it's your turn, slightly. WITH MODERATION! *cough* And no, it's still my POV. It's pretty much my POV throughout.

* * *

And then she found herself running. No, not running- flying. The girl flew through the crowd, tripping, stumbling, coming close to crashing into people. But she didn't stop or slow down. She could stop. But Madeleine couldn't make herself. _He_ was here. Truly _here_. Pushing people aside, Madeleine ducked and dodged around.

Bursting through the edge of the crowd, Madeleine frantically looked around for the boy. He had been right there- over by the door, leaning against the wall. _Where-?_ Madeleine found herself scooped up into two strong arms and looking into a pair of liquid blue eyes.

"Got you."

The voice was so soft, so warm. Madeleine felt herself sink into his arms, managing to wrap her own arms around his neck. There was a chuckle, and a bright smile. Madeleine found herself gently deposited on her feet again, Edward's hands wrapped around her waist- his forehead almost touching hers. "I missed you," She found herself whispering.

"So did I."

Madeleine closed her eyes as Edward twisted slowly downwards. Barely brushing her lips, he let her go again, running a hand up to sweep her cheek softly. "How?" She managed again. Her throat seemed clogged. "How did you-? I mean, both of us-"

"I was lucky," Edward smiled. "If I remember correctly, you went and told me everything that was in that little vial you had made. I decided-"

All romance turned to indignation and disgust. Madeleine pushed away from him. "You cheater!"

Edward crossed his arms. "I believe that's the wrong choice of words."

Giving a roll of the eyes, Madeleine crossed her own arms and glared back at him. "Fine. You just copied what I had done! You didn't even try to make your own!"

There was a quick shrug. "Granted. But I never would have even _thought_ of something that would stop you from dying."

Madeleine held up a finger. "It doesn't stop you from dying, it stops you from dying _completely_. Big difference. That's the reason we're both-" The girl looked around to make sure nobody was listening. "_Ghosts_ right now."

"Big difference. It doesn't matter."

Madeleine decided to change the subject. "But I got out almost two years ago. Why didn't you come sooner?" Madeleine swallowed hard and looked at the ground. "I missed you."

Edward's arms wrapped comfortably around her waist again. "I know. Grace only broke _my_ vial when you asked her to do the party. And then I was busy doing things the rest of the week. I couldn't come until now," His eyes twinkled. "It would of been very amusing if you had really refused to see me."

Madeleine's cheeks flushed a vivid red. "Sorry," She mumbled at the floor. "But you wouldn't _believe_ how many people just want to annoy me! And what were you doing that you were so busy you couldn't see me?"

There was another shrug. "Close your eyes."

"Edward... Not that again."

"Just close them, Maddie. Seriously."

Madeleine groaned and lightly shut both her eyelids.

"Alright, before I let you open them, you have to answer a question," Madeleine gave another groan. "Whatever happened to the ribbon I gave you? I told you not to lose it again."

Eyes flying open, Madeleine glared at Edward. "You know what happened to it."

A smile twitched on Edward's mouth. "Got to answer the question..."

"I gave it to Lillia."

"I honestly don't know if that qualifies as losing it or not..."

"Cut it out, Ed," But it was impossible for Madeleine to feel angry at him.

"Well, this is the last time I'm going to do this," There was a light smirk. "Hopefully at least. Close your eyes," Madeleine closed them. She could feel Edward's hand wrapping around her, then doing something with her hair. "Open."

The girl's eyes flew open at the same time as her hand flew up to feel the red ribbon she knew had been inserted in her hair. A soft red crept into her cheeks again. "Thank you, Edward," She whispered. Madeleine curled her arms around his neck and buried her head in his tunic.

Smiling, Edward rocked her back and forth. Then he pulled her a bit closer. "Madeleine," He whispered softly. "I'm sorry. About leaving, I mean. I should have listened to you and-"

There was a finger pressed on his lips. "Don't, Edward. You had a reason."

Silenced, Edward didn't know what to say or how to say it. He could feel everything, but there were no words for how he felt. "I'm not going to leave you," He finally whispered. "Ever, Maddie. You won't ever be left alone like that." He pulled her closer, his nose and mouth gently pressed up against her cheek. He spoke in a whisper, barely hearable. "I promise you won't ever be hurt like that again."

They stayed like that for a few moments until Edward noticed something. "Where's Luke?" Madeleine blinked, thinking. "And Katie, and Jane, and all the rest? Did they-" The next thing he knew he was being dragged along by a wild pony by the wrist.

"Luke's going to kill me!" Madeleine yelped, giving him an extra-rough jerk to make sure he dodged a lady's wine glass. Thinking for a minute, she rephrased her sentence. "I was being sarcastic."

"Better- better be-" And Edward suddenly found himself on the dance floor with fifty pairs of eyes on him. Madeleine didn't even hesitate. She plowed through the dancers, dodging kicking legs and a couple of high-heeled shoes aimed for her. "Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill!" Edward howled when they were through. "What was _that_?"

"Sorry," Madeleine gave him an apologetic smile. "I meant to go around, but I miss-judged the route. Do you-" And then they burst out of the crowd and were at the other side of the building. Edward let go of Madeleine's hand and doubled over, panting. "Do you see Luke?" Madeleine completed her question.

Edward was annoyed at the fact she wasn't even breathing hard. "No."

"You could at least look," Madeleine rolled her eyes disgustedly, then raised up on her toes and looked over the crowd. She gave a yelp and grabbed Edward's hand again. "He's coming this way with Tom!"

Dragging him around a corner to the left, Madeleine stopped at the entrance to 'the dark hallway'. She gave one look at all the doors, held up a finger, and began judging. "Eenie, meanie, minie, moe. Catch a tiger by..."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Edward lost his patience. "Just choose one," He grabbed her hand and bolted down the hallway, opening up the second door on the right. He pulled her inside and slammed it shut.

* * *

MO: EVERYBODY gets impatient with Madeleine when she decides she doesn't want to move.

WH: I don't do that...

NS: DO!

DC: DO!

AF: DO!

B: DO!

MO: DO!

AD: *is neutral*

WH: Thanks, Lu.

AF: Of course. Thanks to the person who doesn't tell the truth... Oh, come here, Rush, you sweety-thing...

NS: Stop hugging that dog. You're turning my stomach, Jane. Write, Maddie.

* * *

"Now, explain what that was all about," Crossing his arms, Edward leaned back against the room's wall. It was pitch black in the room, leaving no light to see by. He could hear Madeleine's steps as she moved closer to him, but couldn't see her. Two little hands wrapped around his neck, and Edward smiled as Madeleine's head pressed against his chest.

"Well, the only thing the others saw, was me seeing you, then running pell-mell through an entire _crowd_ of people and both of us together. I don't think Luke's going to highly appreciate someone doing that to his sister."

Edward's eyebrows twisted slightly down. "Killer, to over-protective," He breathed out of the side of his mouth. "Nice."

Madeleine heard him, but decided not to say anything. Suddenly footsteps began thumping ominously; heading down the hall. Grabbing his wrist again, Madeleine pulled Edward to the back of the room. She ran her hands along the wall until she felt two metal poles beneath them. "Come on," She hissed. "This is going to be a piece of cake."

Edward groaned, "A piece of cake that's been sitting in the Sahara Desert for two years straight," There was another sigh as Edward started climbing up the ladder as well. "This better have a backup plan behind it..."

"Don't worry," Madeleine hissed. "Everything-"

The door opened with a heavy, foreboding squeak beneath them.

Madeleine's mouth was softly pressed against Edward's ear. "Don't. Move. A muscle."

"I wouldn't _dream_ of it."

Madeleine wanted to shoot something back, but being in the predicament they were in, she thought it best not to. Below, two shadows appeared in the doorway. One rather on the tall, wiry side, and the other- tall, with muscles bulging. "Are they here?" Madeleine recognized Luke's voice quickly. She stopped herself from laughing.

"I don't see them. You?"

One of the many ideas Madeleine always had, stored up in her brain, popped loose. Disappearing, from view, but still in the room, the seventeen year old girl floated up to the ceiling next to a fire alarm sensor. Smiling deviously, a match appeared in her hand. It only took a minute to light the little flame and a blaring sound rocketed from the fire alarm. The door below her closed, with Luke and Tom leaving.

"_Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill_!" Edward hissed. Keeping his voice as low as he could, he tried to sound like he felt, not happy at all. "_What the hell are you thinking?_"

"Simple," The girl appeared high up on the ladder above him. "I got them away from us. And the fire sprinklers won't do anything."

Edward glanced, unconvinced, at the large puddle being made below him and Madeleine.

"Remember, this is an old building." Madeleine rolled her eyes as she pushed upward on a roof's tile. The tile flipped upward and let both Madeleine and Edward out of the building. "They stopped remodeling it almost six months ago, and it's been vacant ever since. The fire alarms will blare once, and go off. I figured since there's only sprinklers in the rooms adjoining the original room, nothing would get in the way of the party. Besides, on the other hand, I don't think Luke and Tom are going search through rooms getting wet, just to look for us."

"Madeleine," Edward gave her a dead-pan stare. "I honestly love your 'logic'. I've missed it. But that is the _stupidest_ idea you have _ever_ come up with in your _entire life_. No lie."

"What would _you_ have done?" Madeleine shot back, putting her hands on her hips.

Edward was stumped for a second. "Something other than what you did."

"But _what_?"

The blond haired boy blinked, then decided to compete in a glaring match. Both of them stood under the stars, desperately trying not to smile. Edward gave in first, letting a grin creep over his face. "Fine. You win. I didn't have any ideas. But that was still a pretty bad move."

Madeleine shrugged nonchalantly and reached out; not especially for anything in particular, just towards Edward. Understanding, he took her hand and gently pulled her into a hug. The two of them walked to the East edge of the roof after a moment, just above the warehouse's door.

_Almost dangerous._ Edward thought for a moment, as he looked down at the ground nearly one and a half stories below. Having Madeleine so close to the edge of something was almost like asking her to grapple off. He hoped she wouldn't take the opportunity. "Maddie?"

Looking down, Edward found Madeleine's dainty, pale face staring up at the stars. He could see her eyes moving lightly, drawing lines through all the constellations she knew, and even the ones she had made up. "What?"

"Do-" Edward tightened his arm, which was wrapped around Madeleine's waist. "Did you miss me?"

The pale face turned towards him. The lips moved slowly, mouthing each whispered word. Emerald green eyes stared at him. "Why do you ask?"

"I was afraid," Edward breathed. "I mean- I watched you and everything, but-"

"But you were afraid I left," Madeleine finished for him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "That I didn't care anymore. That the package was only a lifetime deal."

Both Madeleine and Edward chuckled lightly at the spoken irony. "Yeah," Edward nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of."

Madeleine didn't reply. The effects of rapid, two-day continuous party planning was beginning to catch up with her. Drifting slowly downward, her eyelids settled halfway closed on her face, along with a sleepy smile. Madeleine yawned as she got down on her knees next to the rim. She patted the stone on her right for Edward to sit down as well.

"You never answered my question," Edward whispered, nervousness increasing in his voice. He swallowed hard as he sat down next to Madeleine.

"I love you," The girl had laid her arms on the rim, and she turned her head towards Edward, the sleepy smile twitching upward. "I love you more than anything. And-" The eyes flew open. Madeleine lifted her head and looked directly into Edward's eyes. "-And I'm never going to let you go again. Not even to the cellar."

Smiling, Edward gently grabbed Madeleine and pulled her onto his lap. She leaned against him, arms still laid on the warehouse's rim and head on the arms. "We're even," He whispered softly. "Madeleine?"

A sleepy; "Hm?" Was his only reply.

Reaching his left hand down, Edward felt around in his pocket and pulled up a small gold, oval locket. There were tiny, intricate engraved poppies on the front, and although the style of the locket was rather old, it looked as if it was made the day before; considering how brightly the yellow gold shown. Just above the locket, was a little loop, allowing the yellow satin ribbon that made the locket a necklace, to pass through.

Edward held the small locket in his hand- feeling the weight of it. Rubbing a thumb over the flowers, he swallowed hard. Memories still came from that fateful day, even though he didn't want them. Leaning forward, Edward slid one end of the yellow ribbon under Madeleine's chin, and under her black hair. Then he tied the ends together.

Madeleine's eyes blinked rapidly for a moment as her mind adjusted to what must of happened while she cat-napped. Then while she straightened hastily up, her hand flew to her neck. Eyes wide, she untied the ribbon and held the locket in her hand. It was like the past was there, with her, and she was still living in the era she was born in. That it was like the same night when Edward had given her the original locket for the first time.

"Do you like it?"

Madeleine jumped at the voice. "No," She shook her head. "No, I don't like it."

Edward's face fell, "But-"

"I _love_ it, Edward," Locket still in one hand, Madeleine threw her arms around Edward's neck. After a moment, her grip loosened. "But- but- I thought the locket got buried in China."

Shifting Madeleine's weight on his lap, Edward rested his chin on her shoulder. "That's what took up all my time." Madeleine snuggled up against him. "And it's why I didn't get to see you before. I wanted someone to do it who knew how, but wasn't going to sit down and do a cheap fake out of plated gold. But I found someone. Then I had to sit there and explain what I wanted to him. And I mean- I had to explain _everything_."

There was a soft giggle from Madeleine.

"But your picture's still inside. That hasn't changed. At all," Edward hesitated for a moment, then he leaned down, twisting his head to the side as he leaned over Madeleine's shoulder. A pair of green eyes began twinkling as Madeleine wrapped her arms tightly around Edward's neck while his lips gently brushed hers.

And then everything felt right.

All the missing pieces of her heart began clicking together, finishing the puzzle Madeleine had worked so hard on. There was no fear of Luke, or any of the others. She didn't have to run from anybody, or hide, or be worried. Everything was- was _perfect_.

Looking up, the black haired girl stared up at the stars.

"_MADELEINE ELIZABETH CAHILL!_"

Two heads turned.

* * *

AF: I hated you at that instant. I truly, truly could have smashed you into smitherines, tossed them off the Golden Gate Bridge and never thought a thing of it.

B: I despised you at that moment. I could have taken you and attached you to one of those medieval stretchers and pulled your limbs off and never thought anything of it.

MO: I loathed you at that moment. I could have PULVERIZED you into COOKIE CRUMBS and TOSSED THEM across THE EARTH, and never looked back.

NS: You were crazy- No, no! _ARE_ crazy, Mads.

WH: Yeah, yeah. Thanks. I figured. O.o

* * *

Jane was marching towards them holding a hopelessly soggy cake in one hand, and looking like she was going on a one man crusade. "_WHY_? She screeched. "_WHY_ do I have to live with _YOU_ as my sister?"

Madeleine began absentmindedly whistling the ringtone she had heard on Thomas' phone. _Whistling Wizard_.

Katherine was stomping up behind Jane. Her face was dark, and promised nothing good for Madeleine in the next few minutes of her life.

A grin stretched over Edward's face and he stood up, dragging Madeleine along with him. Then he gave her a little push forward. "Handed forward on a silver platter," He whispered in her ear. Madeleine glared at him.

Thomas was holding up a soaking wet chicken suit and his face was a dark, purple-magenta color.

Madeleine began wondering if she had a grappling hook within a five stride range.

And then Luke crawled up out of the roof's trap door. Madeleine could see he was clearly upset, but there was something else. There was no everlasting rage. There was no hate in those dark brown eyes. There was only a exasperation- and love. Love for Madeleine, no matter what she did; no matter what happened. That was one thing that would never change.

Madeleine's eyes flickered over her other siblings and behind the anger, she saw the love was still there. The emerald green eyes turned back to Luke and he saw Madeleine looking at him. There was a almost imperceptible, exasperated shake of his head. Madeleine flushed, reading his expression. _I'm sorry._ She mouthed the words she wanted to tell him. _But Thank you; for- for keeping your other promise._

There was another shake of his head, but Luke was laughing; eyes soft and warm. He understood. _You're welcome._

Madeleine let a breath out as she turned to face the other fiery three. Edward's arm curled around her waist, pulling her close, and letting her know she wasn't alone. Bright stars twinkled above, showing the millions of people who were watching over the six. Madeleine could feel almost a faint feeling of someone else there. Watching, protecting. All the people she had known in her life; all the people she had loved.

And Madeleine didn't care. She didn't have to. She had everything the way it needed to be. Her plan might have taken five hundred years to finish, but she had done it.

Perhaps it was a good thing, not being able to say 'no' to Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill.

_**The End**_

* * *

DC: The End.

AF: Yup. Finis. All good things must come to an end.

MO: This was a good thing?

WH: Eh, considering how you take it. Ed, you have like- fifteen chapters to edit actually. *cough* I don't know if _you_ view this as a good thing. =D

NS: It doesn't matter. I had fun. It actually wasn't that bad as I thought it'd be.

AD: Most things aren't that bad once you've tried them. Remind me to make you try out for a lacross team...

NS: NO! No! Why ON EARTH would I do _THAT? _TELL ME!

AD: What did we just discuss about 'not being as bad as you thought it'd be'?

NS: _No_. I said no.

MO: Hey... Go try it out! Wouldn't hurt if your biceps get a little bigger than they are.

NS: Would it hurt you if your biceps got a little smaller? =D

AD: Dudes, seriously. *cough*

B: Come here, Snow.

AF: RUSH! Wait for me! No-

NS: _JANE?_ OH GREAT! Just what I need, the lead dog and my sister lost in the Alaskan interior-

WH: _JANE? _*cough, cough*

DC: Don't worry, Mads, he'll get her. She can't really go far, anyway.

MO: O.o I wouldn't count on that.

WH: Jane taught me how to make SNOWSHOES out of BIRCHBARK ALONE!

MO: She knows how to do that? Gee...

WH: She read the entire 'wilderness survival guide'! I'm like- positive she could live in the Arctic for five years and come out looking perfectly healthy and safe from all harm.

B: So in that case, you got nothing to worry about.

WH: SHE'S CRAZY!

DC: And you're not?

WH: I have COMMON SENSE. If she sees a cliff and a pretty river beneath, what's she going to do?

MO: Go down the cliff, of course.

WH: DOWN THE CLIFF.

B: Oh.

WH: DUH! Luke NEEDS TO GET HER! Tom, how far are you away from them? *cough* Kate- find out.

DC: You asked them both the same question. O.o

B: My phone says about two hundred miles. Hang on... About two days by dogsled with our team of eight dogs. 30 hours if we go non-stop.

WH: Oh... Luke- find her...

MO: Don't worry, Mads.

NS: Do I honestly have a sister that's that stupid?

MO: See? What happened, dude?

NS: Jane decided to go running away with Rush because he spotted a squirrel and wanted something extra for dinner. I got them both back now. I think we ought to turn in though. The dogs are getting restless with both of us talking and the clicking of the laptop keys...

AF: So... night. See you guys in... two weeks.

MO: Two weeks. I think we're going to turn in too. Bye, Mads-Ed/Lu!

_*Art Freak has logged off* *Mountain Obsessed has logged off* *Brilliancy has logged off* *Not Luke Skywalker has logged off*_

AD: A squirrel. *cough*

WH: I feel stupid...

DC: Great... now what, Mads?

WH: All that trouble for a squirrel...

AD: Eh. You could have scheduled a flight. That's not that bad. Oh, and here's Luke's 'surprise'. I got him a husky. Yeah? Whatcha think?

WH: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

DC: Luke is going to _hate_ you, dude. Okay. Maddie and I are going to turn in. Long day tomorrow. See you! And I WANT THAT PAPERWORK!

AD: Yeah, yeah... All bark and no bite. See you!

_*Anonymous Dude has logged off* *Wicked Harmony has logged off* *Darth Cahill has logged off*_

* * *

**The End.**

**Yes, the story of Madeleine Cahill is finished now, if ANYBODY IS GOING TO ASK THAT QUESTION. I told you there would be a 'the end'. You saw the 'the end'. It is done.**

**There'll be a 'questionire' page, for questions that I want answered, and also a credits page, to the people who have helped so much. Thank you!**

**With best wishes to everybody who has followed this fic to its end, I conclude it's momentous finale,**

_**THE END**_

**=D**

**~L~**


	50. Questionaire

**Firstly, if you clicked the little arrow that sends you directly to the last chapter updated, you missed the Epilogue. Go back and read it if you haven't read it, because I'm certain you'll feel bad about missing out on the last chapter. ;)**

**Next: Read this.  
**

**This is a Questionaire About Forgiveness**

**1. Why did you click on Forgiveness in the first place?**

**2. What made you keep reading the story?**

**3. What was the part you thought could be most improved?**

**4. What would you have changed if you were the author/me? (Ex., Not created Lucas / Killed Madeleine differently / Not created Edward.)**

**5. When you were reading the story, was the plotline enough to keep you on your toes?**

**6. Are these questions entirely stupid?**

**7. Did Forgiveness change the way you looked at the founders?**

**8. Are you happy that you read Forgiveness?**

**9. Would you mention Forgiveness to your friends to read?**

**10. On a scale of 1-10, what would you give Forgiveness as a whole?  
**

**Now it's time for my input. These questions are stupid. Yes, I know that, but I had to ask them, because you answering them will make me a better author. Numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5 all give me input that I can use on another story. Numbers 3, 6, 8, and 9 all give me knowledge on what I perhaps ought to change in future fics/Forgiveness. Number 10? Number ten tells me whether I ought to stick Forgiveness in the garbage, or not.**

**So please answer in your reviews, and please answer TRUTHFULLY. If you're lying, I will know. And on another route, those twenty-five reviews WILL BE COUNTED. If you want Termination, **_**review**_**. Even one word will be counted and appreciated. :)**


	51. Dedication Page

**I would now like to thank a few people individually for certain things that meant so much to me. Anybody who is not mentioned, I apologize, and it doesn't mean that I love you less. :) Enjoy happy readings for the rest of your days, and you can perhaps be recognized in Termination. ;)**

**BTW; you have 10 more reviews before Termination can be published. I noticed a LOT more people saw my story than reviewed. ;) *that was a quickhint***

**~!~!~!~!~**

_**To Cahill-not-Cahill, an anonymous reviewer, who was the first person to review:**_

**YOU WERE THE FIRST PERSON! YAYAYAYAY! HERE'S A PLATE OF COOKIES! GO CELEBRATE! YOU'RE ****AWESOME****!**

**~!~!~**

_**To all the Anonymous Readers who have not reviewed, but have read Forgiveness through and through:**_

**Thank you. I've never met you, and I probably never will, but if you enjoyed this story, thank YOU for reading it. It doesn't matter if I wrote it. To heck with me. Thank YOU!**

**~!~!~**

_**To; Hope/Shelly, If I Had an Email, and all the other anonymous reviewers:**_

**I cannot thank you enough. You proved to me that not only FF people read my story, and that normal people - like me - care about writing too. Thanks, and it was wonderful knowing you. :)**

**~!~!~**

_**To the person who told me never to quit in her anonymous review:**_

**I truly hope you're reading this. One; for the reason this proves I **_**didn't**_** quit, and Two; for the reason that you followed me to the end, and you are now a treasured friend. I'd like to say that you inspired me to NOT quit. Even when I went on hiatus for a while, in about a week I was already up out of my ditch and yearning to hit writing again.**

**And it's all thanks to you.**

**If you're reading this right now, (which I hope you are,) I am thanking you from the bottom of my heart for writing that review. You don't know how much it meant and means to me. :') (I'm crying now from writing this. Weird... I usually don't cry unless I'm emotionally touched...)**

**~!~!~**

_**To Lil' Sunshine:**_

**You're one of my treasured friends. :) Thank you so much for reviewing just about ever chapter. I knew I could always count on you to leave a hypo-excited review with lots of caps about random things in the 39 Clues world. Thanks again for your support.**

**And by the way, who else can I freak out about the 39 Clues with? :D**

**~!~!~**

_**To Shelly:**_

**Does it count if you get two recognitions? One as an anonymous reviewer, and one with a site account? Well, you're still a person. Anyway. Thanks for making me laugh, Shelly. Your reviews always helped that one tiny bit, and I knew I could always count on you to review. Thanks. :) ;) :)**

**~!~!~**

_**To Alexandra:**_

**You are recognized for getting me out of that horrible ITALIC PIT! Thank all of her, people, because without her, those funny italics would be ZERO. And with her advice, I finally realized the difference between funny italics, and annoying lines of italicized print. :) Thanks, Alex.**

**~!~!~**

_**To Incendiarist:**_** (Did I spell your name right?)**

**You only left a few reviews, but you are now my writing idol, for some reason. You give off an aura of knowledge when you type. Thanks for filling in those plotline points about Madeleine's baby years. And it's also a relief that I'm not the only one who noticed the last name 'Cahill' would not exist in the fourteenth century without Gideon being a Egyptian god worshiper and living on a hill. XD We all know that he's not. :) Thanks, Cendi.**

**~!~!~**

_**To PT88:**_

**I've lost you on this story, which is disappointing, because besides Sunshine, I use to count on reviews from you. Unfortunately, I don't know WHAT happened to you. It's like you disappeared over the face of the earth. Anyway, thank you for being my friend, and for being one of the first people to start following Forgiveness. (If you're even reading this...) And I WILL win that war! ;D**

**~!~!~**

_**To Clover:**_

**You are recognized for liking my story full of twists and turns. I still can't get over a plotline compliment, as you can see. X ~D**

**~!~!~**

_**Everybody:**_

**After I've wrote this, I'm rather disgusted that I have, because although I haven't read Harry Potter, I flipped to the dedication page of the seventh book and read the dedication. (Ex.) To all the readers who have followed Harry's adventures to the end.) Or something like that. Haven't I been saying that all through this dedication chapter?**

***gags***

***pukes***

***recovers***

**I hope that you do NOT put me in the same catoregory as J. K. Rowling, because I do NOT make 1.3 million every three days. I'm lucky to get a hundred dollars in a YEAR. So... :) No comments on the 'fact' that I'm copying J. K. Rowling. PLEASE.**

**Or you can, but... eh... you know what I mean. If you've suffered through 51 chapter of my horrible writing, then you know what I mean. :D**

**Hey, another BTW; Alexandra Birdwing, I had a question for you if you're still reading this. You commented earlier that I 'could never' put in a happy ending because of how it all eventually 'turned out'. But really, do you think I did? Hm?**


End file.
